The contentious new power line from Beauly in the Scottish Highlands to Denny in the south was given the green light today.
Minister for Energy Jim Mather MSP announced the Beauly-Denny Transmission Upgrade:
“The Beauly – Denny upgrade is the most significant grid infrastructure project in a generation. Scotland’s electricity network needs significant reinforcement to allow our vast renewables potential to be harnessed, transmitted and exported – currently we simply do not have the transmission capacity to carry the green energy which Scotland will generate over the coming years.”
“The Beauly-Denny upgrade will help unlock Scotland’s onshore and offshore energy potential and this consent recognises the wider context, benefits and challenges of a development of this scale and opportunity.”
The proposed power lines were subject to an extensive Public Inquiry in 2007. Inquiry Reporters concluded that the line is necessary from a technical and economic perspective, and is consistent with both the Applicants’ duties under the Electricity Act and with national Planning and Energy policy.
The Reporters recommended that, apart from two short sections, the line should be consented.
Niall Stuart, Chief Executive of Scottish Renewables said the upgrade is good news for the economy, employment and the environment. “The upgrade is absolutely vital if we are to capture the full potential of Scotland’s unique wind, wave and tidal resources” said Stuart.
“After many years of uncertainty, the renewable energy industry can now plan for the future knowing that new projects will be connected to the grid. This will bring billions of pounds of investement, thousands of new jobs and a huge cut in CO2 emmissions from the power sector”.
Stuart concluded “We now need to focus on building the line, capturing the tremendous opportunities that it opens up, and make Scotland the renewables powerhouse of Europe”.
The investment required for the overhead line proposal is estimated by Ofgem to be around £330 m (US $528m). Between 250 to 300 people are expected to work on the development at any one time, rising to between 450 and 500 depending on need and at peak construction times.
Further details can be found on the Scottish Government website.
