- The Orkney Transmission Link will exchange up to 220MW of energy between the Orkney Islands and the UK mainland
- There will be one high voltage alternating current (HVAC) cable circuit extending approx 69km in route (53km subsea, 15km land) from Finstown in Orkney to Dounreay in Caithness
- The significant contract includes both the production and the installation of the cable
Nexans, a global leader in the design and manufacturing of cabling systems and services, has signed the contract for the Orkney Link by SSEN Transmission following the capacity reservation agreement signed in November 2023. The significant contract includes both the production and the installation of the cable. The 220kV high voltage alternating current (HVAC) cable will be largest capacity cable connecting the Orkney Islands to mainland Scotland and will span 53 km offshore and 16 km onshore route in total in Finstown, Orkney and Dounreay in Caithness, UK.
The Orkney Link will exchange up to 220 MW of renewable energy between the islands and the mainland and is a critical step in strengthening the UK power network, supplying demand centres in the North of Scotland and beyond with clean energy from one of the world’s greatest resources of renewable electricity. Subsea interconnectors, which connect two areas of land together with an underwater electrical cable, allow for the expansion of electrification and the growth of renewable energy. In the case of the Orkney Islands, there is an abundance of renewable resources from established and planned onshore wind farms to emergent technologies that harness electrical energy from the oceans and will all support delivery of the UK and Scotland’s Net Zero targets.
We are looking forward to working on the Orkney Link as it represents a major milestone in connecting remote renewable energy resources to the UK mainland. Subsea interconnectors are critical for reliably delivering electricity across the oceans from the places with the greatest supply to those with the greatest demand, thereby increasing network resilience and allowing access to reliable energy for consumers.
EVP Generation and Transmission Business Group, Nexans
We’re delighted to have awarded these crucial contracts to Siemens-BAM JV, Nexans and RJ McLeod for the delivery of the Orkney connection project. All three have a strong track-record of delivering challenging projects and we’re looking forward to continuing our relationship with them.
Deputy Project Director, SSEN Transmission
The interconnector will be manufactured at Nexans’ plants in Halden Norway for the offshore sections, Charleroi, Belgium for the onshore cable sections, and Cortaillod in Switzerland for the accessories. Nexans will also install the cable using its state-of-the-art cable laying vessels. The project will be delivered in 2027 by Nexans experts at multiple locations, including in the UK and adds to Nexans’ expanding portfolio of interconnectors including the Celtic Interconnector and the Crete-Attica Interconnector.