Ecosse Subsea Systems (ESS) has signed a Letter of Intent with ABB 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.
ESS managing director, Mike Wilson, said: “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.”
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