Japan’s Sumitomo Electric Industries (SEI) and its subsea cable installation partner, Van Oord Offshore Wind UK (the Sumitomo Electric Van Oord Consortium) has been named the preferred bidder for the proposed Shetland 2 High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) link subsea cable for SSEN Transmission.

A press release said that independent electricity system operator, National Grid ESO, confirmed the need for a second HVDC link from Shetland to the main GB transmission system per “Beyond 2030,” its strategic network plan, “As well as helping enable the connection of three ScotWind offshore wind farm sites adjacent to Shetland, Shetland 2 will also support decarbonization and energy security ambitions, alongside helping further secure Shetland’s future electricity needs.”

Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands, and Norway. SSEN Transmission is the trading name for Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission, which is responsible for the electricity transmission network in the north of Scotland, maintaining and investing in the high voltage 132kV, 220kV, 275kV and 400kV electricity transmission network.

The Shetland 2 project helped SEI invest in its previously announced U.K. plant in Nigg. Construction of that high-voltage cable plant has begun, and it will have approximately 170 employees. “We now look forward to concluding contractual negotiations with the Sumitomo Electric Van Oord Consortium in the coming week and months,” said SSEN Managing Director Rob McDonald.

Scottish Government Energy Secretary Màiri McAllan said that the Scottish government is allocating up to £500 million to anchor the offshore wind supply-chain in Scotland to ensure our workforce, businesses and communities all benefit from the offshore renewables’ revolution. “This (latest) announcement gives us a further vote of confidence in that process and follows yesterday’s significant investment by the Scottish National Investment Bank in Ardersier Port. The Shetland 2 contract would underpin Sumitomo’s decision to locate its first European cable factory at Nigg and support hundreds of jobs in the Highlands.”

Contractual negotiations with SVOC will continue in advance of entering into Capacity Reservation Agreements and thereafter, Contract Award status for the Shetland 2 scheme later this year. In parallel, SSEN Transmission awaits the GB energy regulator, Ofgem, to conclude the development of the regulatory framework for Shetland 2 and other ‘Beyond 2030’ investments, with a decision on this expected shortly after.