SSE Renewables has wrapped up construction of the 443MW Viking wind farm in Shetland, which will be the most productive onshore wind farm in the UK, according to the developer.
Viking’s 103 Vestas turbines are capable of generating around 1.8TWh of renewable electricity annually.
In addition, SSEN Transmission’s 260km subsea interconnector to transport electricity between Shetland and the GB mainland has been energised.
Together, the projects represent more than £1bn of investment by businesses within the SSE Group.
They supported around 650 jobs during peak construction and contributed £125m to the local Shetland economy, SSE said.
Continuing operations of the Viking Wind Farm will also support 35 permanent roles, and it is estimated Viking’s community fund will contribute more than £70m to the local Shetland economy over the lifetime of the wind farm.
SSE chief executive Alistair Phillips-Davies said: “Delivery of both the Viking wind farm and Shetland HVDC transmission link are big engineering achievements and together represent a major milestone on the UK’s path to a clean energy system.
“Shetland and the wider North Sea have long supported the country’s energy security and now they are playing a significant role in decarbonising our power system.
“But it has taken nearly two decades for these projects to move from concept to completion and if we are serious about delivering clean power by 2030 – less than 2000 days away – we need to make it much easier and faster to build this kind of mission-critical infrastructure.
“At SSE we are ready to play our part, delivering more vital projects, supporting more good jobs and ensuring our local communities share in the economic opportunities of this transition.”
UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband added: “By switching on Viking, hundreds of thousands of homes In the Shetlands and right across the country will benefit from cheap, homegrown energy, and this project has created jobs and growth for local communities.
“This shows why we need more developments like this to make Britain a clean energy superpower – and that is why we lifted the onshore wind farm ban in our first 72 hours in government.
“This will be a crucial part of delivering our mission for clean power by 2030 – reducing our reliance on volatile fossil fuel markets, boosting our energy independence and protecting consumers.”
SSEN Transmission managing director Rob McDonald said: “The Shetland HVDC Link project is a hugely important investment in the journey of Shetland, Scotland and the UK as a whole towards a clean energy future – linking Shetland to the GB electricity grid for the first time.
“This has been a big team effort, and I want to express a special thank you to the Shetland community and to our delivery partners: BAM Nuttall, Hitachi Energy and NKT.”