SSEN Transmissions has announced that the next phase of construction work in the Shetland HVDC link project is set to begin on Monday 06 February and will involve installing new ducts where the future HVDC subsea cable will make landfall at Weisdale Voe on Shetland.

Starting on Monday 6 February, SSEN Transmission's contractor NKT and local subcontractor Tulloch's will install two new cable ducts from the seabed at Weisdale Voe onto the foreshore. The ducts will be around 30m in length and will allow for the HVDC cable to be pulled through to be jointed to the land cables which are already installed inland near the Weisdale Voe shore. From there the cables will connect to the converter station at Upper Kergord. The ducts will be buried and covered with layers of gravel and rock to provide secure protection.

Minor preparatory works are underway to allow the safe delivery of plant and machinery to site as well as to facilitate the arrival of the ducts, which were towed in to Weisdale Voe by a specialist vessel in September last year and safely stored ahead of installation.

Extensive environmental surveys were carried out prior to construction to establish what wildlife may be present in the area such as otters and nesting birds, with plans put in place to mitigate against any impact. An environmental specialist will be on site during any construction activity to ensure all wildlife is protected and any impact is carefully managed.

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The next phase of subsea cable installation is expected to begin in mid-March and will involve the specialist cable laying vessel NKT Victoria installing 57km of subsea cable from Weisdale Voe heading south into the North Sea.

The first 100km of cable was successfully installed in October last year, with NKT Victoria laying the cable from Noss Head in Caithness heading northwards. The third and final campaign will take place later this year, which will complete the link between the first and second campaigns in the North Sea to join all three campaigns together and complete the full 260km subsea HVDC link.

Once fully installed, the 260km subsea HVDC cable will enable Shetland's connection to the national grid for the first time, unlocking Shetland's renewable energy potential and increasing security of energy supply.

Fionán Doonan, Lead Project Manager for SSEN Transmission, said: "This next phase of works at Weisdale Voe is a short but crucial phase in the whole Shetland HVDC Link project.

"The installation of the ducts in the seabed and shore at Weisdale Voe will allow for the HVDC subsea cable to be safely pulled into shore, where it will then be jointed to the land-cables which were installed last year that feed into the HVDC converter station at Upper Kergord.

"This is a key activity in the project which will facilitate the second campaign of cable pulling from specialist vessel NKT Victoria in mid-March, which will see 57km of subsea cable installed on the sea bed from Weisdale Voe heading south in the North Sea.

"We've taken care to plan this project to minimise any impact to the environment as much as possible, with robust mitigation measures in place both onshore and within the bay to limit our impact on wildlife, and we'll also have an environmental specialist monitoring our construction activity at all times.

"We've been working with the local community to advise them of the project in advance, and we'll continue to keep them informed as the project progresses. As ever we thank the local community, residents and stakeholders in advance for their continued patience while we work to complete this crucial phase of work and will do everything we can to minimise any impacts."

The Shetland HVDC subsea link project is on track to be completed in 2024.