SSEN put before the public their proposal for a substation on a selected site west of Finstown on Wednesday 11th of July. The site had been selected after extensive surveys and will be subject to further archaeological investigation by ORCA in the late summer or early autumn.

Visualisation of Proposed Substation – Aerial View

SSEN have stated that they are aware of local concerns over the impact of the proposed substation particularly with tourism.

Visualisation of Proposed Substation – view from the road

Several surveys were undertaken before the proposed site was selected. The subjects of the surveys were: birds, otters, habitat and vegetation,noise,boreholes and archaeological remains.

Why is a substation necessary?

There is no transmission infrastructure in Orkney. The growth in the renewables industry in the islands means that a new subsea cable is required to connect to the National Grid. At the moment no further generation can connect to the existing cable system.

A subsea cable linking Mainland, Orkney, to Caithness is required. As part of the transmission system a substation is also necessary and Finstown has been proposed as the desired location.

Local residents have also indicated to The Orkney News that they feel there should be some sort of community payback if the substation is to go ahead in Finstown. They pointed out the absence in the village of EV charge points. There are several places where these could be located: the Community Centre, the school and the car park.

The consultation is open until Friday 17th of August. Members of the public who missed the consultation event can access the materials online: Orkney

Here is Greg Clarke from SSEN explaining about the consultation.

Reporter: Fiona Grahame