Energy / Work on Upper Kergord electricity stations to kick off soon
AROUND 50 workers will be on site at Upper Kergord by the end of the year as construction of the electricity converter station and substation there ramps up.
Early work for the infrastructure will get underway soon, with around 25 staff setting up the site in early September.
They will be focusing on the initial civil engineering, such as setting up a temporary site compound and welfare facilities, along with some minor watercourse diversion work and the installation of environmental mitigations, ahead of commencing general earthworks.
The converter station and substation are part of plans to connect Shetland to the Scottish mainland by cable, which will pave the way for large wind farms to export energy.
BAM Nuttall is the principal contractor for the civil works.
Work has also started on the archaeology investigations and other survey work on the interconnector cable route from Kergord to Weisdale Voe ahead of the commencement of cabling works scheduled to start early next year.
SSEN Transmission’s director of offshore delivery Sandy Mactaggart said: “The site will begin to take shape over the coming months with a small team of around 25 workers setting up site in September, with staff numbers gradually growing to around 50 by the end of the year.
“We have been working closely with the local supply chain ahead of the commencement of work on the project, opening up contact opportunities for local companies.
“As a responsible developer, we will continue to work closely with the local community throughout the construction phase to ensure we actively mitigate any impact of construction activities and minimise disruption where possible.”
A road into the site of the converter station has already started.
The construction of the Viking Energy wind farm will run in tandem with the work at Upper Kergord.
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