Members of the public invited to attend new consultation event in Braco ahead of plans for new substation

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  • New substation is part of plans to upgrade second circuit on Beauly-Denny overhead power line to 400 kilovolts to accommodate more renewable energy

  • Project is part of GB-wide plans to upgrade the electricity transmission network to help reach UK and Scottish Government climate change targets

  • Public consultation event to take place on Tuesday 22 August in Braco Hall

Teams from SSEN Transmission are inviting members of the public to share their views on proposals to install a new substation near Braco as part of a major upgrade to the electricity transmission network across the country.

The new substation will be located close to the existing 275kV substation known as Braco West, and will connect into the existing Beauly-Denny overhead line.  The development forms part of a project to upgrade the second circuit of the Beauly-Denny overhead line from 275 kilovolts (kV) to 400kV to accommodate an increase in new renewable energy generation across the country.

The Beauly-Denny overhead line is 137 miles long and runs from Beauly, north of Inverness, to Denny near Falkirk. It was the first 400kV overhead line built in SSEN Transmission’s network area and became fully operational in 2015. There are two circuits on the overhead line, one on either side of the steel lattice towers.  The overhead line was constructed for operation at 400kV, with one circuit operating at 400kV and the second circuit operating at 275kV.  Due to increasing amounts of renewable electricity generation connecting to the transmission system, there is now a need to uprate the second circuit from 275kV to 400kV.

To uprate this second circuit to 400kV there is a requirement to build two new substations, one located near Braco and the other in Fasnakyle near Cannich in the Highlands.  There is also a requirement to upgrade the existing Fort Augustus substation. 

SSEN Transmission is hosting a public consultation event on Tuesday 22 August to share more information and invite feedback on potential locations for the new Braco West substation.  The in-person event will take place at Braco Hall between 3.30pm and 7.30pm, and will be hosted by the project team.  

SSEN Transmission Project Manager Conal Brown said:

“The new substation at Braco West forms a key component in our Beauly-Denny 400kV project, which in turn is part of a GB wide programme of upgrades to our critical national electricity transmission network infrastructure.  These upgrades are key to help achieve UK and Scottish Government 2030 climate change targets, helping to deliver a pathway to Net Zero and secure the country’s future energy independence.

“We have carried out extensive studies to determine our initial proposals so far, and we are now seeking feedback from stakeholders for the proposed new substation at Braco West as part of the wider Beauly-Denny 400kV upgrade project. This feedback will then be used to help inform our designs as we further develop the project. 

“As a stakeholder-led business, we will be working closely with the local community and wider stakeholders to help inform the ongoing development of this substation at Braco West and encourage anyone with an interest in our proposals to visit us at our Braco consultation event to share their views, which will be carefully considered as we further refine our plans.”

A public consultation event for the proposed new substation development in Fasnakyle will be held on Tuesday 5 September in Cannich Village Hall, between 12pm and 5.30pm.  A virtual event will also be held between 5.30pm and 7pm on Thursday 7 September, where anyone with an interest in the project can drop in online, view the project documents, chat with a member of the project team and submit any feedback. 

Feedback on the project will remain open until Tuesday 3 October and can be submitted via the dedicated project page here: https://www.ssen-transmission.co.uk/projects/project-map/beauly-denny-400kv-upgrade/