Pylon concern remains as SSEN meetings move to Voe
SSEN TRANSMISSION says it is continuing to explore what sections of overhead power lines could be undergrounded around Voe.
The energy giant said it had listened to the concerns of Voe residents and made changes to its Shetland Strategy project in the area as a result.
SSEN held its latest consultation event in the Voe Hall on Tuesday, with the car park near to full when Shetland News attended at 5.30pm.
Two signs displaying a simple message – “no pylons” – greeted folk as they came in and left the building.
Voe has united in its opposition to plans to build 38-metre high pylons across a 366 metre section running near to the A968 Dales Lees road.
A petition against SSEN’s original plans for pylons in the area, organised by the Voe Community Development Association (VCDA), garnered over 1,600 signatures before it was submitted earlier this year.
SSEN was meeting residents on Tuesday about plans to build a substation south of Voe at Hamarigrind, as well as overhead lines between Kergord and a new ‘Northern Hub’, likely to be in Toft.
While the company is proposing to underground some cabling near to Voe, there have been strong concerns about overhead lines in its “northern section” – as well as another proposed 250 metre section from the existing Kergord substation to the new Hamarigrind one.
While the overhead lines in the northern section would stand at 38 metres, the ones between Kergord and Hamarigrind would be 28 metres.
SSEN Transmission’s development portfolio manager David Inge said it was “probably a bit too early to say” what the feedback had been like in Voe when Shetland News visited.
However he said there had been a “good turnout”, with a “range of views” being expressed.
Asked specifically about the response to the plans to build 38-metre pylons in the area, Inge said SSEN had “some good conversations around the routing options” with residents.
“There’s been a lot of interest in the development,” he said.
“There’s been a lot of interest in the underground areas, interest in the extent of the overhead lines.”
SSEN information at the Voe event said the company “recognises” concerns about steel lattice pylons having too much visual impact in the area.
It said the company was “refining the route, height and tower locations to position towers sensitively and reduce visual impact”.
Inge said questions about whether SSEN could put more of the cabling under the ground instead of 38-metres up would be “part of the discussion” afterwards.
SSEN officials – including Inge – warned on Monday that burying more cables would result in larger substations across Shetland.
Decreasing the height of the proposed pylons around Voe and up to Toft could also increase the need for infrastructure, they said.
On Tuesday, Inge said the discussions from the Voe consultation were around “what areas of undergrounding should be explored”.
He said Tuesday’s well-attended event in Voe would be “hugely helpful” for SSEN.
“It’s really beneficial to us to meet the affected communities,” he said.
“People have said it’s good to see feedback from previous consultations influenced some of these decisions.”
One of those decisions that SSEN said it had changed as a result of feedback was locating its overhead lines further south, while another was changing the substation’s name to Hamarigrind to reflect its location.
SSEN said its Shetland Strategy project – which relates to plans to bring a second and much larger HVDC cable to the isles – could bring up to £2 million in community benefit.
The energy giant said it would pay £200,000 per kilometre of overhead lines constructed, and £530,000 for every substation built.
Further consultation events are being held this week, with two taking place in Yell today (Wednesday).
They will meet the community in the Mid Yell Hall between 1pm-5pm about the Energy Isles wind farm and Yell substation, before a second session in Burravoe Hall between 6pm-8pm on the same topics.
Sessions in the Brae Hall on Thursday from 11am to 1pm, and in Hillswick Hall from 3pm-7pm, will focus on potential landfall sites for the second HVDC cable.
Inge said they had received “similar” feedback in Mossbank on Monday to what they were hearing in Voe on Tuesday, with a “lot of interest” in plans for a Northern Hub in Toft.
He added they would be using the feedback from this week’s meetings to feed in to the next round of consultations.
A timeline displayed at the event said an environmental impact assessment is due to be started this year, with land negotiations taking place in 2027.
Construction on the Shetland Strategy project could then get under way in 2028, with the project then going live in 2032.
Become a member of Shetland News
Shetland News is asking its readers to consider paying for membership to get additional perks:
- Removal of third-party ads;
- Bookmark posts to read later;
- Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
- Hide membership messages;
- Comments open for discussion.
If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please become a member of Shetland News by either making a single payment, or setting up a monthly, quarterly or yearly subscription.
Already a member? Sign in to hide this message.
