Hydro power station helps keep islands connected
(SSEN) completed the repair project on March 31, after work at sea was hampered by winter storms.
SSEN received a marine licence to carry out the cable replacement on January 24 but despite a specialist cable laying ship travelling to the Sound of Jura, calm weather required to lay the cable never came.
With the ship remaining on standby, the green light finally came on March 25 and the new cable was connected six days later.
During the project, 40 per cent of the average demand for the islands’ electricity was met by Inver Hydro Power Station on Jura, working alongside Bowmore Power Station.
SSEN employed a Constraint Managed Zone (CMZ) – an alternative to traditional generation when the main network is temporarily disconnected.
Rather than rely solely on diesel generators or back-up power stations, a CMZ uses renewables and energy storage.
John Lithgow, managing director of Inver Hydro, said: ‘The CMZ has been a great success, ensuring we made a significant contribution to keeping the islands’ lights on over the winter with low carbon generation.’