Aberarder Wind Farm Connection

About the Project

The proposed development is located in the local authority area of The Highland Council, between Aberarder Estate and Dunmaglass Estate. The new overhead line would extend for approximately 5km from the proposed Aberarder Wind Farm Substation into the existing Dunmaglass 132kV Overhead Line.

The overhead line was initially specified as wood pole trident, however after engineering design works, wood pole is not considered suitable for the site location due to altitude and climatic conditions. An options assessment was completed to identify suitable structures for the local conditions. The proposed new single circuit overhead line will utilise metal monopole supports from Aberarder Wind Farm Substation for 4.7km, from where wood pole supports will be used for approximately 0.3km to tee into the existing Dunmaglass Overhead Line.

The circuit is proposed to be constructed using metal pole supports which are part of an ongoing development of a New Suite of Transmission Structures (NeSTS) as an alternative to metal lattice towers.

NeSTS

The proposed NeST structures are single pole structures with three offset, cantilevered arms supporting the insulators and a top-mounted earth wire. The earthwire will be an optical ground wire (OPGW) incorporating fibre optic strands which are used for communication associated with protection and control of the network. The nominal height of the proposed metal pole supports is 24m, although extensions currently required for some of the structures to account for topographical features means their maximum height along the proposed line maybe up to 36m.

Find Out More About NeSTS

Why is the Project Required?

The Developer, RES UK and Ireland Ltd, have accepted a transmission connection offer in respect of their development at Aberarder Wind Farm.

As part of its statutory and transmission licence obligations, we have a number of duties including:

• to facilitate competition in the supply and generation of electricity
• to ensure that the security of the network is maintained as the demand and/or generation connections change over time
• the development and maintenance of an efficient, coordinated and economical system of electricity transmission

The National Electricity Transmission System Security and Quality of Supply Standard (NETS SQSS) provides the criteria that we must use to plan and design the transmission system. The defined criteria ensures the security of the Main Interconnected Transmission System (MITS).

Other Associated Works

The existing 275/132kV Super Grid Transformer (SGT2) located at Farigaig substation, which is located near Torness, does not have adequate capacity to connect Aberarder Wind Farm and as such it is proposed that SGT2 will be replaced with a 240MVA 275/132kV unit.

Community Engagement

Throughout the life of our projects, we aim to work positively with local communities and keep people informed about what we are doing. This is particularly important when we are developing a proposal and we want to understand what local people think about our plans.

We endeavour to take the time to discuss proposals with local community councils, encourage engagement from the wider community and listen to the feedback we receive.

We will do our best to answer any questions and address issues or concerns that are raised with us.

When our project progresses into construction, we will continue working closely with the local community to ensure that our work has as little impact on the lives of those living and working in the area and as many long term positive effects as possible.

How we’re embracing artificial intelligence (AI)
We intend to use AI to assist our experienced teams in the analysis of your feedback, so we can categorise key points raised more quickly. You can learn more about how we’re utilising AI on this dedicated web page.