Orkney Islands Council has commissioned a report to establish implications for a new electricity transmission link to the mainland for the local economy and for renewables growth.
The report will determine the gross value added (GVA), which is the measure of the value of goods and services produced in an area, industry or sector, to the Orkney economy of a new electricity interconnector over a 45 to 50 year period.
The report, being produced by economic advisory GHD, will seek to establish the benefits of the new cable and the renewable generation growth it can support.
Ofgem’s approval for a new cable is dependent on at least 135MW of new energy generation projects in Orkney, but the proposal from SSEN is to build a 220MW interconnector, meaning that “space” would exist on the cable to support emerging industries like wave and tidal generation potentially providing further additional benefit to the Orkney economy.
Scottish company Eneus Energy has gained planning consent for a proposed green hydrogen/ammonia plant in Orkney, Scotland, which would be the first commercial facility of its kind in the UK.
The development, along with the proposed wind turbines extension at Hammars Hill, was approved by the Orkney Council Planning Committee at a meeting on 20 January, the company said.
Eneus said the plant, near Evie, will harness the renewable electricity generated by the wind turbines to produce hydrogen from water, and then combine the gas with nitrogen from the air to form ammonia.
The wind farm extension will see two 150-metre turbines built adding 8.4MW to the existing 4.5MW project.