Scottish Yes vote won't scupper $800 million power deal, says ABB

Subsea link is need to integrate 1,200MW of renewable energy

Engineering giant ABB has said that plans to construct an $800 million subsea power link north of the border will still go ahead, even if there is a 'Yes' vote in the Scottish independence referendum.

ABB won the contract for the Caithness-Moray high-voltage direct current (HVDC) power transmission link from Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission. The link, once constructed, will enable the integration of 1,200MW of renewable energy.

ABB chief executive Ulrich Spiesshofer said he was confident that the construction project would go ahead, whatever the outcome of next week's independent vote. He said: “I'm not a politician – I'm an entrepreneur, and we have to adopt to any changes that happen. But power will need to be generated, and it will need to be transmitted.”

The power link will connect the electricity grid on either side of the Moray Firth in northern Scotland.

ABB will design and build two 320 kilovolt land-based HVDC converter stations, one rated at 1,200MW at Blackillock in Moray and another rated at 800MW situated at Spittal in Caithness. It will also supply and lay underground cables covering a transmission length of nearly 160km.

Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission is undertaking a major strengthening of its power network to accommodate the growth in generation from renewable sources, with around 1,200MW of wind, wave and tidal energy planned to be connected.