SSEN Distribution, part of SSE plc, announced the five contract partners it will work with to deliver future investment of up to £950 million in its subsea electricity network.
This programme will renew and upgrade the subsea electricity links connecting island communities across Scotland.
The partners are Burntisland-based Briggs Marine; DOF Subsea UK and N-Sea, both of which have bases in Aberdeen; and Enshore Subsea and Jan De Nul. Specific projects will be allocated according to each contract partner’s specialisms and resources.
Running for an initial five-year period, with the option of an extension for a further three years, SSE estimates that this framework investment will help support more than 450 specialised jobs for every year the agreements are in place, meaning well over 3,500 fixed-term roles could be sustained by the overall programme.
“The network linking Scotland’s islands takes electricity on the final part of its journey to homes and businesses,” said SSEN.
“Ensuring these critical links are upgraded and renewed will allow customers to connect new technologies like EV chargers, solar panels and heat pumps to the network.
“These connections will also benefit local energy generators seeking to produce and export clean power. And they will support increased demand and decarbonisation — with its associated economic growth — by important island-based industries like distilleries …
“In the longer term, upgrades to subsea connections will deliver more resilient and secure electricity connections for island communities, thus reducing the likelihood of needing to run locally based backup power stations based on islands themselves.
“The certainty these longer-term contracts give our partners will help them make strategic operational decisions. This will have a positive effect on the jobs and careers they are able to offer in local communities, while also providing greater certainty in the supply chain for SSE as it embarks on the biggest phase of network development in its history.”
Gillian Martin MSP, the Scottish Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Energy, said: “This welcome investment by SSEN Distribution will help upgrade the subsea network serving Scotland’s islands, improving its resilience and supporting Scotland’s net zero ambitions.
“It will also support thousands of high-quality green jobs and drive new growth across the local, regional and national economies as part of our net zero transformation.”
Kevin Galbraith, SSEN Distribution’s Subsea Project Director (Large Capital Delivery), said: “Subsea connections are becoming ever-more important as Scotland’s island communities seek to invest in EV charging, heat pumps, and the decarbonisation of their industries.
“In addition to providing the networks fit for supporting this growth in the use of clean power, these framework agreements will also underpin the ambitions of islanders to generate, store, and export more renewable energy.
“The agreements themselves will ensure delivery of this investment will be rolled out in a seamless, co-ordinated way, and this will provide both customers and supply chains with the certainty they’re looking for.
“This multi-year investment will also provide greater job security and new opportunities for employment in this growing sector.”