SSE CAITHNESS MORAY POWER TRANSMISSION

The project covers the promoter's investments to create additional power transmission capacity in Scotland. It comprises about 180 km of underground and subsea cable, 2 AC/DC converter stations, and the construction or reinforcement of 8 substations and 2 power transmission lines, in north-eastern Scotland.

This reinforcement of transmission infrastructure in the area will allow the interconnection of up to 1,200 MW of additional generation from renewable sources (primarily wind).

The project concerns activities some of which fall under Annex I and others under Annex II of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive (2011/92/EU). Construction of a 275 kV overhead line, subsea cables and converter stations have all been found to require an EIA, while other sub-projects have been screened out by the authorities due to their limited scope and impact.
It is not foreseen that there will be any significant adverse impact on any European conservation site (e.g. Natura 2000, Habitats or Birds Directives sites) in the project area. The typical potential impact during construction would be noise, dust, vibration, traffic disruption, and impact on sea floor, water quality, birds, fish and marine mammal populations.

The Bank will require the promoter to ensure that contracts for the implementation of the project have been/shall be tendered in accordance with the relevant applicable EU procurement legislation (Directives 2004/18/EC and/or 2004/17/EC as well as Directives 89/665/EEC and 92/13/EEC) as interpreted by the Court of Justice of the EU, with publication of tender notices in the EU Official Journal, as and where required.