SSE wins regulator's approval for Shetland wind farm link

(Sharecast News) - Energy regulator Ofgem has approved SSE's plans to build a new subsea electricity transmission link to connect wind farms in Shetland to mainland Scotland.SSE's Scottish and Southern Energy Networks subsidiary will need to pony up around £709m to build the 600MW Shetland link will, which it exects to complete in 2024.Ofgem rejected a separate proposal to build a 600MW transmission link to connect the Western Isles but said it would support an alternative proposal that better protects consumers from the additional costs of funding a "potentially significantly underutilised link".Depending on SSE's potential revised proposals, this could be either a 450MW transmission link, estimated to cost £617m, or a 600MW link, costing £663m.Ofgem said its consultation on approving the link was subject to Shetland's planned Viking Energy wind farm project has been awarded subsidies through the government's Contracts for Difference auction, which Ofgem said would protect consumers from the risk of paying for a link that it is bigger than needed.The regulator expects to make a decision on the business case for the Western Isles and Shetland links in mid-2019.