Construction work has started on the first sub-sea electricity link between Scotland and the UK.

Over the weekend, work commenced on a converter station at Hunterston in Ayrshire that will eventually become one end of a 260-mile long undersea electricity transmission line.

The £1.3bn power line – which is a joint venture between ScottishPower and the National Grid – will link Ayrshire to Connah's Quay in North Wales. It would run from Hunterston, along the west side of the Isle of Man, and come onshore at Connah's Quay in North Wales, near to Liverpool. A second interconnector is planned for the east coast.

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It has been said that the link could increase the capacity of electricity flowing between Scotland and England by 2,000 MW, which would meet the electricity demands of more than four million homes each year.

It is anticipated that the link will be fully operational by 2016.

ScottishPower Chairman, Ignacio Galan, said: "We are pleased to mark the start of construction on this hugely ambitious sub-sea electricity connection project.

"The Western Link project will act as a benchmark for similar developments around the world, as the deployment of this technology at such a large scale has never been undertaken before."

Energy Minister Michael Fallon added: "The western link is a perfect symbol of the single energy market, of which Scotland is part. It will enable English and Welsh consumers to access Scottish renewables and enable Scots to benefit from base load power when the wind doesn't blow.

"This world leading, billion pound under-sea connector shows the strength of our current integrated system."

(JP/IT)