UK energy regulator Ofgem said it is minded to approve construction of a 600MW subsea interconnector from Shetland to mainland Scotland to support renewables expansion.
The grid link to be built by SSE Networks (SSEN) would allow new wind farms on Shetland to export renewables to the rest of Great Britain and help ensure security of supply on the islands, it said.
Final approval for the link is dependent on SSE’s up to 457MW Viking remote island wind farm securing a Contract for Difference (CfD) in this year’s auction.
SSEN estimates the link would cost around £709m and would be completed in 2024.
In a related development, Ofgem said it is minded to reject SSEN’s separate proposal to build a 600MW transmission link to connect the Western Isles to the mainland based on two Lewis Wind Power CfD3 hopefuls with a combined capacity of around 342MW.
The regulator said there is a risk of consumers paying for a “significantly underutilised link”.
Ofgem would instead support an alternative proposal of 450MW that “appropriately protects consumers”.
SSEN’s initial estimate for the proposed Western Isles 600MW link put the cost at around £663m and would be completed in 2023.
SSEN’s equivalent initial estimate for the 450MW link put the cost at around £617m.
Scottish Renewables senior policy manager Hannah Smith said: “We welcome Ofgem’s minded-to position on the Shetland interconnector – the lack of which has left promising projects effectively locked out of the energy market for want of a network connection.”
She added: “The decision to approve a smaller connection to the Western Isles – which is in an almost-identical situation – does, however, raise questions about whether consumers now and in the future will be denied access to the islands’ potential for low-cost renewable generation.”
Ofgem will make a decision on the business case for the Western Isles and Shetland links in mid-2019.