Energy firms publish route for Scottish transmission line

The proposed route for the 400kV overhead electricity transmission line, which will replace the 132kV transmission line in Scotland, has been published.

SP Transmission and Scottish Hydro-Electric Transmission (SHETL), which is part of Scottish and Southern Energy, will submit applications to the Scottish ministers to construct and operate the line in their respective license areas. The overall length of the Beauly-to-Denny transmission line is 220km, of which 203km comes under SHETL’s licence area.

The publication of the proposed route follows 18 months of public consultations held by the two companies, based on documents and draft routes published in January 2004 and in June 2004. A further period of formal consultation on the companies’ proposals will take place in due course.

The applications will be accompanied by an Environmental Statement of over 2,600 pages, which will cover land use, forestry, agriculture and sporting interests, geology and soils, hydrology, ecology, landscape, visual effects, cultural heritage and archaeology, tourism and recreation, electric and magnetic fields and noise.

The chief operating officer of Scottish and Southern Energy, Colin Hood, said: “It is clear that only the delivery of the necessary infrastructure will enable Scotland to achieve its renewable energy goals. Publishing this proposed route is an important step forward in our plans to modernise Scotland’s electricity network and so facilitate the growth of renewable energy.”