LONDON (Reuters) – Scottish and Southern Energy Networks (SSEN) Transmission will invest 10 billion pounds ($12.5 billion) in networks in Scotland which will enable the connection of up to 11 gigawatts of offshore wind projects, it said on Tuesday.
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A wind turbine is seen near electricity pylons near the Cromarty Firth Scotland
The company’s “Pathway to 2030 Programme” will include investment in several new onshore and sub-sea transmission links as part of a wider upgrade of the electricity transmission network across Britain to meet climate change and energy security targets.
The investment will boost grid capacity so that the first phase of projects with total capacity of up to 11 GW in the ScotWind offshore wind leasing round can connect to Britain’s electricity grid, which is enough capacity to power more than 10 million homes, the firm said.
Projects include two 2-GW high voltage direct current links from Peterhead in Scotland to England, two subsea links in Scottish waters and cable link upgrades onshore.
The investment programme will support more than 9,000 jobs across Scotland, it added.
SSEN Transmission owns, operates and develops the high voltage electricity transmission system in the north of Scotland and remote islands.
Power supplier SSE owns a 75% share of SSEN Transmission and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board owns the remaining 25%.
($1 = 0.7974 pounds)
(Reporting by Nina Chestney; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)