Construction of one of Scotland’s biggest new electricity links has reached another milestone, with the main compounds for the Spittal to Peterhead subsea cable project now operational in Caithness and Aberdeenshire.
Around 50 staff are already based at Bower Quarry near Halkirk, which will serve as the northern operational base for work on the 166km, 2GW electricity connection between Caithness and Peterhead.
SSEN Transmission has now fully established both the Bower Quarry compound and its southern counterpart at Blackhills near Peterhead, allowing the sites to become the main bases for the onshore cable installation work ahead.
The facilities include offices, welfare facilities and storage areas for project teams and supply chain partners involved in delivering the onshore cable package.
Staff currently working from the Caithness compound represent SSEN Transmission, principal contractor NKT and local contractor John Gunn and Sons.
A further 23 permanent staff from SSEN Transmission, NKT and Aberdeenshire contractor Nicol of Skene are based at Blackhills, with local workers expected to continue being employed at both ends of the project as construction progresses.
The project will create a 166km High Voltage Direct Current subsea cable capable of transmitting 2GW of electricity between Sinclair’s Bay in Caithness and Rattray Head near Peterhead.
At the northern end it will connect with the new Banniskirk Hub in Caithness, while the southern end will connect into the Netherton Hub near Peterhead.
Work is already under way at Rattray Head on another major engineering element of the scheme, where a 1.7km Horizontal Directional Drilling operation is creating what will be one of the UK’s longest power cable landfall connections.
The technique allows pipes for the cable to be installed beneath the coastline, reducing the impact of construction work on the surrounding environment and surface above.
Work at Rattray Head is expected to continue over the next 12 months, with similar drilling at Sinclair’s Bay scheduled to begin in late 2027.
Niall Macleod, Project Director for SSEN Transmission’s Spittal to Peterhead HVDC subsea link, said:
“The establishment of our main compounds in both Caithness and Aberdeenshire represents an important milestone for the Spittal to Peterhead project.
“These facilities will act as the operational centres for our teams and supply chain partners, including local businesses John Gunn and Sons and Nicol of Skene, as we progress construction of this critical infrastructure project.
“With both sites now in place, we’re well positioned to move forward with the next stages of delivery.”
For Caithness, the milestone means one of Scotland’s major electricity infrastructure projects now has a substantial working presence on the ground, with dozens of people already operating from the Bower Quarry base and further construction activity still to come.
With the compounds operational and landfall work progressing, the enormous Spittal to Peterhead connection is steadily moving from plans and engineering drawings towards physical infrastructure stretching from the Highlands beneath the North Sea.
