Following the capacity reservation agreement signed in November 2023, French cable maker Nexans has signed an agreement with SSEN Transmission to produce and install the cable that will connect Orkney Isles with the U.K. mainland.
The contract includes both the production and the installation of the 220kV high voltage alternating current (HVAC) cable, which will be largest capacity cable connecting the Orkney Islands to mainland Scotland.
The cable will span 53 km offshore and 16 km onshore route in total in Finstown, Orkney and Dounreay in Caithness, UK.
The Orkney Link will exchange up to 220 MW of renewable energy between the islands and the mainland and is a critical step in strengthening the UK power network, supplying demand centers in the North of Scotland and beyond.
The interconnector will be manufactured at Nexans’ plants in Halden Norway for the offshore sections, Charleroi, Belgium for the onshore cable sections, and Cortaillod in Switzerland for the accessories.
Nexans will also install the cable using its state-of-the-art cable laying vessels.
The project will be delivered in 2027 by Nexans experts at multiple locations, including in the UK and adds to Nexans’ expanding portfolio of interconnectors including the Celtic Interconnector and the Crete-Attica Interconnector.
“We are looking forward to working on the Orkney Link as it represents a major milestone in connecting remote renewable energy resources to the UK mainland. Subsea interconnectors are critical for reliably delivering electricity across the oceans from the places with the greatest supply to those with the greatest demand, thereby increasing network resilience and allowing access to reliable energy for consumers,” said Pascal Radue, EVP Nexans’ Generation and Transmission Business Group.
“We’re delighted to have awarded these crucial contracts to Siemens-BAM JV, Nexans and RJ McLeod for the delivery of the Orkney connection project. All three have a strong track-record of delivering challenging projects and we’re looking forward to continuing our relationship with them,” added Ian Clark, Deputy Project Director at SSEN Transmission.