SSEN Transmission energised by successful completion of Seagreen connection at Tealing substation

SSEN Transmission and its principal contractor Siemens BAM have been working since October 2019 to upgrade and extend the existing 275kV substation at Tealing to increase the capacity of the electricity transmission network  to allow the connection of the Seagreen Wind Energy Limited (SWEL) offshore wind farm project, which is currently under construction.

The project is part of a significant number of projects on the East Coast of Scotland to strengthen the transmission network in the region, enabling the connection of new renewable generation to the grid and helping to facilitate the transition to net zero emissions.

The Tealing SSEN Transmission substation project involved dismantling the old concrete structures to make way for the installation of over 240 new concrete bases and associated equipment, as well as the installation of over 9,000m of cabling and 2,000m of busbar, the metal apparatus used for high voltage power distribution.

As the Tealing substation is a key node in the transmission network the busbar rebuild works had to be completed in sections to allow power flow to be maintained throughout the project.   This meant each section was demolished, rebuilt, commissioned, reconnected to the existing substation and energised before moving on to the next section.

Teams are now turning to the next phase of work, which involves installing two new Phase Shifting Transformers at Tealing. These will improve the power flow control in the existing overhead lines on the east coast of Scotland..

SSEN Transmission Lead Project Manager Alison Hall, said: ‘We are delighted to have successfully completed the energisation of Tealing substation ready for the connection of power from Seagreen offshore wind farm. The Tealing busbar replacement project was at its outset a complex project, with well over 100 outages tightly sequenced to minimise constraint costs and ensure supply to the network was still carefully managed. The successful energisation of the project ready for the Seagreen windfarm connection is testament to the teamwork by our contractor Siemens BAM and the SSEN Transmission project team. The entire team have done a fantastic job under challenging circumstances and between them have found solutions to every issue they have faced. We’re now turning towards the next phase at Tealing which involves installation of new transformers.  As ever, we’ll continue to keep the local community and stakeholders updated as the project progresses and we thank them for their continued patience.’

For more information about the Tealing substation extension project visit: https://www.ssen-transmission.co.uk/projects/tealing-substation-extension/.

Click here for the original press release.