Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks has energised the first section of the £1.1bn Caithness-Moray transmission link between Knocknagael and Kintore.
SSE said the 275kV overhead line is now live and connected to the expanded Blackhillock substation, near Keith, after almost three years of work by the project team.
The company added that commissioning is also under way on the remaining 400kV and 132kV circuits, which are scheduled to be complete by the summer of 2017.
The Blackhillock substation, the largest in the UK, will link to the 1.2GW DC cable from Caithness, with work to install the 113km subsea link due to start next year.
The Caithness-Moray project is on schedule for completion in 2018, when it will enable a further 1.2GW of renewable generation capacity to connect to the grid, SSE said.
Transmission programmes east project director Tony Scott said: “I’m delighted to mark this first milestone, particularly as it has been delivered exactly to the schedule we set out three years ago.
“This is testament to the operational excellence of our teams, who are now committed to building on this good start in future construction phases of the project.”
Image: sxc
First power for Moray link
Knocknagael to Kintore section live and connected to Blackhillock substation
By EBS