Ecosse Subsea Systems (ESS) has signed
a Letter of Intent with ABB, the leading firm within power and automation
technologies, for a seabed clearance and trenching project in the north
of Scotland.
The Aberdeenshire-based subsea technology firm will prepare the route for
the 100-mile interconnector cable at the centre of SHE Transmission’s
£1.2 billion
Caithness-Moray transmission link project.
Depending on the final scope and options selected, the contract will be
ESS’s largest ever contract award.
When completed, the Caithness-Moray
cable will be capable of carrying
1.2GW of renewable energy generated in the North of Scotland to the main
UK electricity transmission network.
ESS will perform boulder clearance
operations and pre-lay trenching prior to the laying of the transmission
cable which will run from Spittal in Caithness to Blackhillock in Moray.
Once the transmission cable is installed by main contractors ABB, ESS will
complete back-fill operations to safely conceal and protect the cable.
Scottish Energy Minister, Fergus
Ewing, praised the appointment of ESS as an example of Scottish technologies
being utilised in contracts of national importance.
Mr Ewing said: “I am delighted
to hear that Ecosse Subsea Systems has secured this agreement, which will
be of significant value to the Banchory-based firm. ESS is a significant
local employer, with around 80 staff, and its involvement in the Caithness-Moray
project will secure an additional 20 jobs over the next two years. It is
an excellent example of a Scottish company using the skills, technology
and experience from delivering North Sea oil and gas projects to secure
new opportunities.
“As well as having significant
local and national supply chain benefits, the Caithness-Moray
project will enable
1.2 GW of new renewable generation to connect to the high-voltage network
providing enough electricity to power the equivalent of over 500,000 homes
and also making a substantial contribution toward our renewable electricity
target. Reinforcement of the grid in this resource-rich part of the country
will also help to pave the way for future island connections to Orkney
and Shetland.”
ESS has already started pre-engineering
work on the project and has a scheduled start date of December 2016 for
what is estimated to be a six to seven month campaign. The company is a
leading exponent of pre-cut trenching which is widely recognised as more
environmentally friendly than traditional cable-laying methods and also
offers greater protection for the cable and reduces risk of damage during
the lay operations.
Keith McDermott, ESS commercial
director, said he was delighted that ESS, a Scottish based company, would
play such a prominent role in using Scottish developed technology on a
project of national importance.
He said: “Our commitment and
significant investment in pre-lay trenching techniques is now resulting
in the award of multi-million pound contracts like the Caithness
Moray transmission cable project.”
SSE Director of Transmission, Dave
Gardner, said: "We are delighted that a local company and local
workers are to benefit from such a significant piece of work on the Caithness-Moray
project. We are
also very proud that Caithness-Moray
is a Living Wage project,
meaning that everyone who works on it will be paid at least the Living
Wage. Through these initiatives we are determined to ensure that local
people and the local economy get as much economic benefit from the project
as possible."
ESS managing director, Mike Wilson,
added: “Cable owners and manufacturers have recognised that our method
reduces the risk of damage to the cable and our use of smaller charter
vessels brings huge cost savings. We also reduce the possibility of schedule
disruption because, working ahead of the laying phase, we can identify
and help solve any potential engineering problems with the proposed seabed
route before it reaches a critical point.”
ESS’s deepwater SCAR plough was
originally designed for use in the oil and gas sector and continues to
work on hydrocarbon projects but the company has
successfully adapted the technology to
suit the requirements of the renewables sector.
Following a number of successful
windfarm seabed clearance and trenching projects in the Humber Estuary
and the Baltic Sea, ESS has established the SCAR’s credentials and a fast,
safe and cost-effective alternative to other seabed clearance and cable
installation options.
Mr Wilson added: “The alternative
method is to lay the cable first and then post-lay cut the trench but that
is like laying a power cable alongside a road and then using a JCB to dig
around and underneath the cable. Using our SCAR plough avoids compromising
the integrity of the cable, significantly reduces the risk of damage, and
offers operators greater peace of mind.”