Local businesses invited to Argyll electricity substation ‘Meet the Buyer’ events

  • Construction set to begin on five new substations at An Suidhe, Crarae, Creag Dhubh, Craig Murrail and Crossaig North as part of 275kV Argyll electricity reinforcement project

  • First event to take place in Furnace on Wednesday 24 January

SSEN Transmission are holding a series of ‘Meet the Buyer’ events over the coming months ahead of the start of construction works on five new electricity substations as part of the 275kV Argyll electricity reinforcement project throughout the county.

Plans for five new substations are underway in Argyll to help support the increase in new renewable energy generation in the region, which means the electricity transmission infrastructure in the area needs to be upgraded and reinforced to help ensure security of energy supply and support the transition to net zero. 

As future renewable generation connects to the electricity network and the operating voltage is required to increase to 275kV, substations along the proposed network route will also require to be replaced in order to accommodate this voltage increase.  SSEN Transmission is therefore proposing to construct and operate five new 275kV electricity substations at An Suidhe, Crarae, Creag Dhubh, Craig Murrail and Crossaig North.   Once the 275kV substations are constructed, the existing 132kV An Suidhe and Crarae Substations will be decommissioned and removed. 

SSEN Transmission along with their Principal Contractors Siemens BAM, BAM Nuttall and Balfour Beatty are hosting three Meet the Buyer events across Argyll, where local businesses are welcomed to attend these informal drop-in meetings.  SSEN Transmission is committed to supporting local businesses and maximising opportunities to employ local staff and contractors where possible, and the ‘Meet the Buyer’ events are an opportunity to connect with businesses who could potentially complement the project’s specialist construction teams.

The projects have the potential to create local business and employment opportunities in the following fields: civil engineering, accommodation, fencing, skip hire, catering, cleaning services and plant hire, with job opportunities for general operations workers, groundworkers, electricians and more.  Local businesses are invited to attend where they will have the chance to engage with SSEN Transmission and their principal contractors, find out more about the project, the skills required and the possible tenders on offer.

The events will take place as follows:

  • An Suidhe, Crarae and Craig Murrail Substations:
    • Wednesday 24 January, 2pm – 6pm – Furnace Village Hall
  • Crossaig North Substation:
    • Thursday 15 February, 2pm-6pm – Carradale Village Hall
  • Creag Dhubh Substation:
    • Wednesday 6 March, 2pm-6pm – Dalmally Village Hall

 

SSEN Transmission Community Liaison Manager Caitlin Quinn said:

“We are always looking for ways to engage with the communities where our sites are located, and that includes working with local businesses as part of a project’s supply chain. By working with local contractors, not only is this contributing to the local economy, but by their very nature these businesses bring their own local knowledge to the table, which is an invaluable addition to the other teams working on site.

“The five new substation projects have the potential to create a wide range of business opportunities including accommodation, security, catering, cleaning services, aggregate services, local labour services, road gritting, building and wholesaler merchants, and we encourage any local businesses to attend our ‘Meet the Buyer’ events over the coming months to find out more.”

Learn more about the Argyll and Kintyre 275kV substations here; https://www.ssen-transmission.co.uk/projects/project-map/argyll-and-kintyre-275kv-substations/

If you would like to discuss the events in more detail, please contact SSEN Transmission’s Community Liaison Managers Caitlin Quinn and Martha Smart on caitlin.quinn@sse.com or martha.smart@sse.com.