SSEN Transmission has announced a series of detailed public consultation events to be held in Shetland throughout October, focused on its proposals for new onshore energy infrastructure, including new substations and overhead line connections.

This follows a recent engagement session in Lerwick that provided a coordinated overview of future energy projects on the islands.

The consultations are being driven by the need for additional connections to enable significant offshore wind generation, which is key to supporting national clean energy and energy security ambitions. SSEN Transmission, as the transmission network operator for the north of Scotland, is obliged under its license to deliver these connections, which are expected to provide substantial economic benefits through jobs and investment in local supply chains.

The consultation schedule begins with a statutory event at Voe Public Hall on Monday, 6 October. This event will share plans for the proposed Kergord 2 substation, including routing options between the new site and the existing Kergord substation. Attendees will be able to view site and route options, including potential technology options for overhead lines, and provide local insight to help minimise impact.

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Further events will take place at:

• Mossbank Public Hall on Tuesday, 7 October.

• Burravoe Public Hall in Yell on Wednesday, 8 October (to discuss the proposed Yell subsea connection and a substation on Yell).

• Brae Community Hall on Thursday, 9 October (focusing on the Northern Substation Hub, designed to reduce the overall infrastructure footprint on Mainland Shetland).

Alan Kelly, Lead Project Manager at SSEN Transmission, encouraged public participation: "We're pleased to build on our recent engagement with this series of consultation events taking place in October, where we will be presenting more detailed information on our proposals for new onshore infrastructure, including substations and overhead line connections. We will always seek to minimise the impact of our projects as far as reasonably practicable, and our Shetland Strategy has been sensitively developed to avoid the potential for more significant infrastructure – for example, we are using hubs instead of individual circuits for each connection, reducing the number of circuits required. Nonetheless we are keen to hear views from the public that can assist us in addressing impacts, and we encourage anyone with an interest in helping us shape our plans to come along to our consultation events and provide their views."