Powering change: Delivering a Network for Net Zero in the north of Scotland
Finalists for best In-House Planning Team at this year’s RTPI Awards for Planning Excellence, Tommy Hart, Town Planning Specialist at SSEN Transmission, explains how the owner of the north of Scotland transmission network is powering change to support a sustainable, just transition to net zero emissions.
Whilst electricity transmission may not always grab the headlines, it is arguably one of the most important types of infrastructure investment; the backbone of our collective transition to a zero-carbon future. From connecting the green electricity needed to support our world-leading climate targets, improving rural connectivity and resilience, to supporting electrification of heat and transport, it’s clear that our electricity networks are key to unlocking a greener, cleaner and more sustainable future.
This is our key focus as we deliver a network for net zero in the north of Scotland, not just by facilitating renewable energy, but also by placing sustainability front and centre of our business. Led by a team of planning, environmental and marine consenting specialists, we have a wealth of experience working on nationally significant high-voltage electricity substations, overhead lines and marine cabling projects in some of the most challenging, remote and sensitive environments.
Our network area is extensive, covering 15 planning authorities, including two national parks. Our projects are complex and require us to work closely with communities and a wide range of stakeholders to find acceptable solutions that deliver a balance between engineering requirements, environmental needs and economic considerations. While the pandemic has presented challenges for stakeholder engagement, we have listened and adapted to ensure that meaningful conversations continue. Since April 2020, we have held roughly 45 virtual consultation events; shaping the development of 11 critical investment projects.
In the last two years we have secured around 50 consents across a variety of consenting regimes for our critical national infrastructure - a significant achievement given that 48% of our licence area is home to at least one statutory designation and/or irreplaceable habitat. These consents are helping us to treble renewable energy output, supporting the country’s decarbonisation needs; demonstrating the importance of working closely, and early, with key stakeholders and decision-makers to agree common goals and expectations.
However, our responsibility goes beyond this, it’s not just what we deliver but how we deliver it. Our focus is placed on ensuring we are leading industry best practice. A great example of this is our commitment to Biodiversity Net Gain on our sites by 2025, not just restoring our natural habitats but actively improving them for the benefit of communities, wildlife, flora and fauna, gaining external recognition at the Institute for Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) awards and being highly commended at the industry Network Awards.
We’re also incredibly proud to be the world’s first networks company to receive external accreditation for a science-based target in line with a 1.5°C global warming pathway, and our commitment to the United Nation’s Race to Zero initiative, joining a global movement of leading companies, aligning our business with the most ambitious aim of the Paris Agreement. Our commitments include actions to reduce our own day-to-day emissions and working with supply chain partners to invest in innovative “greener grid” technology, reducing the use of SF6 gas at our substations.
As we invest at least £2.16bn between now and 2026, creating hundreds of jobs and thousands of supply chain opportunities, we’re supporting Scottish and UK climate goals by delivering a network for net zero and supporting a just transition. We’re helping to power change and “build back better”, one transmission tower at a time.
This blog was first published in the RTPI's Scottish Planner Magazine, June 2021.