UK, Scotland, Aberdeenshire: Aberdeenshire Council has granted planning consent for SSEN Transmission’s Greens 400 kV substation near New Deer, marking a key step in Scotland’s energy infrastructure upgrade.
The project involves the construction of an outdoor 400 kV air insulated switchgear (AIS) substation located east of Turriff and south of Cuminestown. It will connect to the existing New Deer substation via underground cable and form part of the proposed Beauly to Peterhead 400 kV overhead line connection. Crucially, Greens will also act as a connection point for new offshore renewable energy schemes in the north of Scotland.
Alison Hall, SSEN Transmission’s Director of Development, highlighted the wider benefits: “Investing to upgrade our electricity transmission network is also a major driver of jobs and economic activity, and we are already seeing the positive impact of our projects in the north-east of Scotland. The start of our New Deer substation upgrade alone will support local businesses and see around 40 people working on-site during peak construction.”
Hall added that SSEN’s commitments go beyond energy infrastructure, with community benefit funding, housing legacy programmes, and new employment opportunities through apprenticeships and graduate schemes.
The Greens substation is part of SSEN Transmission’s $22.9 B (£22 B) investment programme running until March 2031, with a potential increase to $36.3 B (£31.7 B). This long-term plan aims to expand and modernise the transmission network to meet the UK’s net zero targets and ensure grid stability as renewable generation scales up.
Source: Energy Voice
