UK, Scotland: SSEN Transmission has revealed new proposals to strengthen the electricity network along Scotland’s east coast while also reducing the impact of older overhead lines on local communities.
The plans include replacing two substations and building a new one as part of wider upgrades between southern Aberdeenshire and Angus. The project is designed to secure electricity supplies, support future clean energy developments and prepare the network for growing demand.
A major part of the proposals involves removing around 82 km of existing 132 kV overhead line between Craigiebuckler in Aberdeen and Monikie in Angus. The infrastructure, which includes more than 550 steel towers and wooden poles, is around 70 years old and nearing the end of its working life.
To allow the lines to be dismantled, replacement substations are planned at Fiddes and Bridge of Dun. These would connect into the existing transmission network through new overhead lines or underground cables.
Plans are also being developed for an East Coast 275 kV substation in the Brechin and Edzell area. It would connect to the current Kintore to Tealing overhead line, while a new Bridge of Dun substation would link into it.
Earlier this year, planning permission was also granted for a new haul track supporting construction of the Cambushinnie 400 kV substation in Perthshire, another key project within SSEN Transmission’s wider $39 B (£29 B) investment programme to modernise the electricity transmission network across the north of Scotland.
Source: SSEN
