James Stockan, Leader of Orkney Islands Council has responded to the news that Ofgem have agreed to a new subsea cable subject to certain conditions.

Ofgem Approves New Orkney Subsea Cable Subject to Windfarm Developments

James Stockan commented:

“I am pleased that conditional approval has been given by OFGEM for a project of huge importance to our community – but disappointed that the bar has been set so high.

“We believe that 135MW is an excessive target and we lobbied hard to get that figure reduced.

“Achieving this target will pose quite a challenge for all involved – but it is a challenge we will do all we can to meet, given the enormous value to Orkney of having this vital new transmission link with mainland Scotland.

“A new interconnector will bring hundreds of millions of pounds of economic benefit to Orkney, supporting the existing renewable energy sector and securing the future development of the marine energy sector by putting the necessary infrastructure in place.”