SSEN Transmission: why nature restoration matters
A blog by Emily Johns, Nature Strategy Manager at SSEN Transmission
Climate change and biodiversity decline are two of the most pressing environmental issues globally. It is not possible to solve one without the other. At SSEN Transmission, our core mission is to deliver power safely and reliably. But we also have a unique position as stewards of the land, and seascapes we operate within.
Electricity transmission lines stretch across vast areas of countryside and, increasingly, marine environments. Especially in our transmission area in the north of Scotland, these are some of the UK’s most ecologically rich, and vulnerable, landscapes. We’re committed to investing £100m in nature restoration across the north of Scotland by 2031, making us the biggest single investor in nature in Scotland, subject to regulatory approval by Ofgem in the RIIO-T3 price control.
Last week we were proud to learn that our Sustainability Strategy has been accepted by It’s Now For Nature, a global campaign which mobilises businesses and financial institutions to take decisive action for a nature-positive world by 2030. Not only that – but we’re the first UK-based electricity Transmission Operator to have our strategy endorsed by the campaign, and only the fourth company in the country. A significant milestone indeed, and a powerful testament to our commitment to putting nature first.
In the corridors and land beside our substations, towers, and subsea cables, we work to restore habitats; but we also identify extensive areas beyond the boundaries of our projects where we can deliver restoration at a strategic scale. Our approach is to go beyond mitigating the impact of our projects – leaving and maintaining the natural environment in a better state than we found it.
The routes of our network take in windswept moors, native woodlands and coastal wetlands – areas often vital to biodiversity, but under increasing pressure. Scotland is one of the most nature-depleted environments in the world, in the bottom 25% globally for biodiversity. We have a unique opportunity as a Transmission Operator to make a difference that other businesses don’t have. We can deliver at a scale, over a sustained period, and in a way that no other Scottish business or NGO can.
CASE STUDY: Scotland the Big Picture partnership
We are the first energy company to partner with nature charity SCOTLAND: The Big Picture to help power nature restoration across the north of Scotland. We are supporting the charity’s Northwoods Rewilding Network – a Scotland-wide chain of landholdings committed to nature recovery. Partnering with wildlife and nature restoration experts helps ensure we continue to do the right thing for people and the planet. Not only is their knowledge about Scotland’s unique nature immensely valuable, but their extensive understanding of the social and cultural context of the land is crucial – we want to make sure that we can play our part in building a community of nature restoration throughout the country. By creating a network of ecological stepping stones throughout the north of Scotland, it means wildlife species can link from place to place with the right habitats available for them to grow and thrive.
We have developed an industry-leading approach to nature restoration, centred around Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) with ambitious targets that exceed the regulatory minimum. Biodiversity Net Gain is a legal and policy approach requiring that new developments or land use changes leave the natural environment - in particular, habitats - in a measurably better state than before the development took place.
Our methodology includes specific adaptations for Scotland, such as giving special consideration to peatlands and native pine forests. We were recognised as the first developer to implement BNG consultation and methodology and are proud to have received international recognition for our work in this area. We brought forward our commitment to Biodiversity Net Gain on all eligible new infrastructure projects by almost two years from 2025 to 2023. We are now delivering this across our portfolio of projects.
CASE STUDY: Our partnership with the Scottish Association for Marine Science
There are major plans in place to build multiple new subsea cables that will connect Scotland’s clean energy from shore to shore. This includes projects to connect the Western Isles and Orkney to the transmission network as well as a second connection planned to Shetland and two subsea highways connecting the north east of Scotland to demand centres along the East Coast of England. We acknowledge that these subsea electricity projects can have an impact on the marine environment. As a result, we’re taking responsibility through proactive restoration projects that aim to regenerate marine habitats. We’re working with the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) on groundbreaking research into protecting and restoring Scotland’s threatened seagrass meadows and native oyster reefs – species vital in enhancing marine biodiversity. By supporting the research and innovation necessary to shape future conservation efforts, we want to lead the energy industry to safeguard marine habitats. Scotland is a maritime community - healthy seas and functional ecosystems matter. That’s why we’re investing in science, sustainability and strategic restoration. But don’t just take our word for it - check out SAMS’s latest podcast featuring SSEN Transmission’s Lead Marine Consents and Environment Manager Pete Watson as he discusses why marine restoration is everyone’s business.
For ancient woodland, ancient and veteran trees, and peatland in good or moderate condition, our Irreplaceable Habitats policy puts stringent processes in place to prioritise the avoidance of routeing through these habitats wherever possible. In circumstances where impacts are unavoidable due to the extent of these habitats in our network area, and where network resilience could potentially be put at risk, we set out a comprehensive and site-specific plan to minimise any potential impacts wherever possible, such as micro-siting, reducing our standard operational corridor and restorative action.
In the case of ancient woodland, we’re committed to funding appropriate restoration projects to enhance the condition of existing ancient woodland sites (e.g removing invasive Rhododendron) and replacing any unavoidable tree removal through our compensatory planting works. For peatlands, we aim to reinstate onsite habitats to the best condition possible and are working with peatland restoration experts to ensure the highest quality work is done. When we have permanent impacts on peatlands, we work with partners offsite to deliver restoration works on an area greater than that which we have impacted. We aim to work with NGOs and charities as much as possible to ensure the longevity and quality of this work. We believe this approach is not only the right thing to do to protect these precious habitats, but also to enhance them, as we deliver our critical national infrastructure for an energy secure, zero carbon economy.
Scotland’s marine habitats form complex interlinked ecosystems, the importance and magnitude of which is only just being understood; however, we can be confident of their value and importance. Habitats such as seagrass meadows, kelp forests, and biogenic reefs - are vital for carbon sequestration, water quality and coastal protection (seagrass and oyster reefs reduce wave energy by 30-70%). They also provide nursery grounds for commercial fish species, supporting an industry worth £355m a year in GVA and supporting over 10,000 jobs. Seagrass and oyster beds are critical juvenile habitat for commercial species like cod, plaice, scallops, and herring.
Scotland’s once healthy marine environment has degraded over decades under pressure from human activity. The increasing need for subsea power cables connecting the Scottish mainland to the Islands and coastal cables reinforcing the onshore overhead line network is putting additional pressure on these fragmented marine ecosystems. We’re commit to address this decline – our proposal, subject to regulatory approval, is to spend £44.55m to 2031 on pioneering research and innovation, and building the crucial skills pipeline across Scotland and the UK.
Nature restoration isn’t just the right thing to do – it’s what our communities rightly expect of us. Our commitment to exceed Biodiversity Net Gain is right for nature, but it is also the right approach to take communities with us and show that we’re not just delivering energy security but contributing to a nature positive Scotland. Local authorities such as Orkney and Shetland Island already require marine restoration as a condition of electricity transmission infrastructure development, and we expect more to follow. We can help build public trust in, and social license for the essential infrastructure upgrades we are undertaking. It just makes sense.
As Scotland progresses with renewable energy development, we are proving that scaling up doesn’t have to mean trading off. By championing nature restoration alongside transmission investment, we’re laying the groundwork for a greener, more resilient grid. We can’t be a network for net zero, without being a network for nature.