Nexans, a provider of design and manufacturing of cabling systems and services, has signed the contract for the Orkney Link by SSEN Transmission following the capacity reservation agreement signed in November 2023, which includes both the production and the installation of the cable.
The 220 kV HVAC cable will connect the Orkney Islands to mainland Scotland and will cover 53 km offshore and 16 km onshore route in total in Finstown, Orkney and Dounreay in Caithness, UK.
The link will exchange up to 220 MW of renewable energy between the islands and the mainland as well as strengthen the UK power network. It will supply clean energy to demand centers in the North of Scotland and beyond.
The interconnector will be manufactured at Nexans’ plants in Halden Norway for the offshore sections, Charleroi, Belgium for the onshore cable sections, and Cortaillod in Switzerland for the accessories. Nexans will also install the cable using its cable laying vessels.
The project will be delivered in 2027 at multiple locations, including in the UK. It will be an addition to Nexans’ expanding portfolio of interconnectors including the Celtic Interconnector and the Crete-Attica Interconnector.
