Kintore 400kV Substation

Members of the public and SSEN Transmission employees examining project posters in a hall.

Report on Consultation

01 December 2023

Our Reports on Consultation across our three new overhead line projects and associated substation and convertor station developments have now been published. These reports provide a summary of the extensive feedback received during consultation, how this has been considered and confirmation of which routes and substations are now being taken forward to the next stage of development.

Our Reports on Consultation are now available to download from the Project Documentation tab.

Summary Reports on Consultation are also available for each of the three schemes and can be downloaded below:

A stakeholder webinar available for all to join will be held in the coming weeks to share the changes informed by the feedback. More information about the forthcoming webinar will be shared on our events page shortly.

In further recognition of community feedback, we will seek to rationalise cumulative infrastructure impacts through the removal and undergrounding of existing transmission lines, where technically practical and appropriate, and subject to all necessary planning consents and landowner agreements.

Work to identify and assess potential sections of existing overhead line where their removal will reduce cumulative impacts is ongoing, with an update expected as part of the next round of public consultation on overhead line alignments and more detailed substation designs in early 2024.

We would once again like to thank all stakeholders who took the time to engage with our early consultation process. We will continue to engage with stakeholders ahead of consulting further with local communities and stakeholders in the new year, as we look to refine our proposals.

Report on Consultation

21 November 2023

Over the course of this year, we have undertaken extensive consultation on plans to upgrade the electricity transmission network across the north of Scotland and have received a considerable amount of feedback from a wide range of stakeholders regarding our proposals.

We recently advised in our next steps for 2030 network developments update that following assessment of consultation feedback and additional options analysis, we would publish our Report on Consultations (RoCs). These reports provide a summary of the feedback received and how it has been considered, which options we will take forward to the next stage of the development process and any changes to options initially consulted on.

It is our intention to publish the RoCs for this project in the coming months. All stakeholders signed up for updates on the project will receive a link to the report and we will also issue Summary Reports to help ensure accessibility.

These Report on Consultations mark the completion of the first round of non-statutory consultation, where we sought feedback on the corridor, route, and substation locations. We will be consulting further with local communities and stakeholders in the new year, as we look to refine the projects, therefore we welcome an open channel of communication and would like to reassure all stakeholders that there will be further opportunities to engage on this project.

Our Reports on Consultation and Summary Reports on Consultation are now available to download from the Project Documentation tab.

SSEN Transmission sets out next steps for Pathway to 2030 network developments

11 October 2023

We have announced our next steps for our Pathway to 2030 programme of projects. We would like to thank everyone who has engaged with our teams and kindly taken the time to respond to our consultations.
Full details of the announcement can be found here:
Next steps for Pathway to 2030

SSEN Transmission Kintore Project teams help to Be The Difference at The Bothie this Summer

17 September 2023

SSEN Transmission team members working on a new substation development near Kintore leant a helping hand to local youth community project The Bothie after they issued a call for volunteers to help with a clear-up mission.

The Bothie is a community-run organisation for young people in Kintore and offers a space which can provide support, advice, and help with issues facing young people in the area, as well as bringing them together to help enhance their education and social skills. The Bothie was recently awarded funding for new brickwork around the exterior of the building after the old plaster and straw bale cladding was starting to crack, so they issued a call for volunteers to help with removal of the old exterior.

The team of five volunteers from SSEN Transmission reached out to help, and soon sprung into action to spruce up the exterior of the popular community space, clearing away debris following the removal of the old cladding plaster and straw bales.

Find out more about The Bothie by visiting https://www.thebothie.org/

Second Transformer Delivery

21 December 2022

Following the successful delivery of the first transformer unit in November, the second transformer unit is expected to be delivered to site in the early hours of Tuesday 10th of January. To help minimise disruption to local residents, businesses and road users and ensure the transformer units can arrive safely, the manufacturer has appointed specialist haulier Colletts to transport the units via convoy using a large 10-axle x 2, 65813m length specialist vehicle under the guidance and supervision of Police Scotland.

The transformer convoy will depart from Aberdeen quay at 21:00pm on Monday the 9th of January under Police Scotland escort and make its way to Kintore substation. Due to their size, the delivery vehicles will be travelling at a reduced speed for safety, and the journey is expected to take between four and six hours. No road closures are required to facilitate the movement of the transformers, and vehicles should be able to pass the convoy at regular opportunities on the road network under guidance from Police Scotland, when safe to do so. The complex delivery has been carefully coordinated by our project teams, working with the specialist haulier (Collettes), as well as Aberdeenshire Council and Police Scotland, to ensure disruption can be kept to a minimum for the local community and road users in the area. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the local community in advance for their patience and understanding while we transport these transformers onto their final location in Kintore. If you have any questions, please contact the Community Liaison Manager Dav Lynch (dav.s.lynch@sse.com).

Festive period site closure

19 December 2022

Our Principal Contractor Omexom works at Kintore substation will pause for the festive period from Friday 23 December until Wednesday 4 January 2023.

Transformer Delivery update - November 2022

29 November 2022

The Kintore 400kV Substation development is making good progress, with our teams recently completing all necessary foundation works ahead of the arrival of the first new supergrid transformers from our specialist manufacturer. The first transformer unit is expected to be delivered to site in the early hours of Monday 5^th December, with the second transformer due to arrive in January 2023. To help minimise disruption to local residents, businesses and road users and ensure the transformer units can arrive safely, the manufacturer has appointed specialist haulier Colletts to transport the units via convoy using a large 10-axle x 2, 65813m length specialist vehicle under the guidance and supervision of Police Scotland.

The transformer convoy will depart from Aberdeen quay at 21:00pm on Sunday the 4^th December under Police Scotland escort and make its way to Kintore substation. Due to their size, the delivery vehicles will be travelling at a reduced speed for safety, and the journey is expected to take between four and six hours. No road closures are required to facilitate the movement of the transformers, and vehicles should be able to pass the convoy at regular opportunities on the road network under guidance from Police Scotland, when safe to do so. The delivery of the first of two new supergrid transformer units marks a major milestone in the project, which will ultimately enable a greater capacity of energy to flow through the substation. The complex delivery has been carefully coordinated by our project teams, working with the specialist haulier (Collettes) , as well as Aberdeenshire Council and Police Scotland, to ensure disruption can be kept to a minimum for the local community and road users in the area. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the local community in advance for their patience and understanding while we transport these transformers onto their final location in Kintore. If you have any questions please contact the Community Liaison Manager Dav Lynch (dav.s.lynch@sse.com).

Extension to Working Hours

14 June 2022

From Thursday 9th of June the working hours for our Principal Contractor working at Kintore substation site, Leylodge will be extended. The new working hours that have been agreed by Aberdeenshire Council will be; 07:00 hours to 19:00 hours Monday to Friday, the works that will be carried out during these additional hours will be within the existing substation. There will be tower lights on while the works are ongoing, but these will be switched off at the end of each night. Weekend working will also commence within the existing substation on both Saturday’s and Sunday’s between 07:00 hours to 19:00 hours. SSEN Transmission will review the requirement for these additional working hours on an ongoing basis. The extended working hours are necessary for the project to meet grid connection dates and reduce the longevity of the overall project. SSEN Transmission apologises for any inconvenience that these changes may cause to the local community and thank you for your continued understanding as our project progresses. If you have any questions or queries in relation to the project, please do not hesitate to contact the Community Liaison Manager (dav.s.lynch@sse.com)

April 2022 - Update

28 April 2022

Significant progress had been made on the construction of the Kintore 400kV Substation over the last few months. The earthworks “cut and fill” operation is now complete and the completion of the main retaining wall has been carried out. The 2 Supergrid transformer oil containment bunds have successfully been put in place and the main building steelworks have now been erected. Over the next few months the cladding of the building roof and walls will be carried out and various internal works will take place within the building. The upcoming months will also see the installation of concrete support foundations and installation of platform drainage pipes and cable ducting. To view images of the progress on site please see our “Progress gallery” in the project overview section of this website.

Fourth CLG Meeting Held

27 April 2022

We held the fourth Kintore substation CLG meeting on Wednesday 20th of April via Microsoft Teams. Thank you to everyone that attended. Minutes from the CLG meeting that was held in January can be downloaded from the project documentation section of this website.

Third CLG Meeting Held

21 January 2022

We held the third Kintore substation CLG meeting on Wednesday 19th of January via Microsoft Teams. Thank you to everyone that attended. Minutes from the CLG meeting that was held in September can be downloaded from the project documentation section of this website. If you have issues, concerns or comments you would like discussed at a CLG, please contact the Community Liaison Manager, Dav Lynch. The date of the next CLG meeting is 27th of April 2022. If you wish to attend a CLG in person, you are required to declare an agenda item in advance to Community Liaison Manager.

Closure of Feedback Period

23 November 2021

The feedback period following the recent public consultation events for the Kintore 132kV Asset Replacement project held in October is now closed. All responses received will now be reviewed ahead of submission of a planning application.A new designated webpage has been created for the Kintore 132kV Asset Replacement project which can be accessed by clicking on the below icon.

Feedback Period Open

21 October 2021

The project team would like to extend thanks to all members of the public and interested parties who took the time to come along to our public consultation events that were held on the 19th of October and to those that visited our virtual online consultation and submitted questions to the team via the live text chat function on the 20th of October. We hope you found the consultations informative and beneficial. If you were unable to join any of the events, all the content that was presented on our proposals can be found within the project documentation tab of this website. We encourage those with an interest to share their views and feedback on our proposals by completing a feedback form. The feedback period is open until 22nd of November 2021.

Kintore 132kV Asset Replacement Project - Public Consultation Events

05 October 2021

SSEN Transmission are hosting public consultation events to present our proposals for the replacement of the 132kV equipment at the existing Kintore substation. Events will be held both face to face along with a virtual online consultation exhibition and would like to invite all interested parties to attend in order for us to gain views and feedback on our proposals. To find out more on where the events are being held, please click on the link below.

Second CLG Meeting Held

23 September 2021

We held the second Kintore substation CLG meeting on 22nd of September via Microsoft Teams. Thank you to everyone that attended. Minutes from the inaugural meeting that was held in June along with the Terms of Reference can be downloaded from the project documentation section of this website. If you have issues, concerns or comments you would like discussed at a CLG, please contact any of the Kintore or SSEN Transmission representatives. The date of the next CLG meeting is 19 January 2022 If you wish to attend a CLG in person, you are required to declare an agenda item in advance to Community Liaison Manager, Dav Lynch.

Community Liaison Group (CLG)

25 June 2021

We held our first Community Liaison Group meeting on 24th of June 2021 via Microsoft Teams. The Community Liaison Group (CLG) is made up of representatives from the local community as well as Kintore & District Community Council members and project representatives from SSEN Transmission. Meetings will take place at regular intervals to discuss any matters relating to the Kintore substation project while the construction period continues. Minutes will be made publicly available via this website via the project documentation tab and through local channels such as Kintore & District Community Council. The date of the next CLG is 22nd of September 2021 6–8pm. If you have any queries relating to this project please contact Dav Lynch, Community Liaison Manager.

May 2021 Update

28 May 2021

Following the approval of the Kintore substation by Aberdeenshire Council, we expect to begin enabling works in July of this year to set up our Site Welfare facilities adjacent to the substation junction off the B977 before moving on to the earthworks exercise in August which will be led by our Principal Contractor Omexom.The Earthworks, which consists of stripping of top soil and temporary bunding prior to processing of under lying material including rock breaking, processing and placement of graded material is expected to continue until end Q1 2022 with concrete and building erection works to continue thereafter.

Planning Application Determination

26 January 2021

SSEN Transmission welcomes the approval of the Kintore substation by Aberdeenshire Council, which once constructed, will be the world’s first 400kV Green Gas for Grid (g3) substation. The new, innovative clean gas technology will result in a reduction of emissions equivalent to removing 138,000 cars from our roads for one year when compared to traditional substation gas technology.The new substation will be built to the West of the existing substation at Leylodge and is a key component in SSEN Transmission’s reinforcement and improvement of the transmission network in the North East and East Coast of Scotland. It will facilitate the connection of new renewable electricity to the National Grid and will also help control the flow of energy across the North East, helping transport renewable electricity to where it’s needed, supporting the transition to net zero emissions and the fight against climate change

Section 37 Application

02 October 2020

On the 31st of July 2020 we submitted two planning applications in support of our proposals. A town & country planning application was submitted to Aberdeenshire Council and can be found at the following location; https://upa.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/online-applications/search.do?action=simple&searchType=Application Planning ref: APP/2020/1437. We have also submitted an application to Scottish Ministers for consent under section 37 of the Electricity Act 1989 relating to the over head line elements of our proposal. We have been working closely with the Energy Consents Unit to ensure that, during the COVID-19 restrictions imposed by the UK and Scottish Governments, the application can be processed formally and in accordance with all relevant Regulations. Please click the link below, should you wish to view the documents contained within our Section 37 application in full.

Planning Application Submitted

31 July 2020

We are delighted to confirm we have now submitted our final planning application to Aberdeenshire Council regarding our proposed 400kV substation development at Leylodge, Kintore. Should you wish to view our application in full and submit formal comment to the council then visit the following websites to search for our application. https://upa.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/online-applications/search.do?action=simple&searchType=Application Planning ref: APP/2020/1437. www.energyconsents.scot/ S37 ref: ECU00002100 You can also view our S37 application in full at the link below

Kintore Substation Design Change

19 May 2020

On the 3rd of March 2020 we held a public consultation in Kintore regarding our proposals to submit a new planning application for a 400kV Air Insulated Swtichgear (AIS) substation at Leylodge, Kintore. At this consultation we committed to returning to the area before submitting our planning application to present further information on alternative solutions to our currently consented proposal.Due to the on-going COVID-19 pandemic and in line with Scottish Government guidance, we cannot host a secondary public meeting on this matter, in lieu of this we have created an additional information brochure showing our intention to submit planning for a 400kV Gas Insulated Switchgear (GIS) substation and the details of our proposal.The information brochure can be downloaded from the Project documentation section, we would encourage all interested parties to please read this information and submit any feedback either online or directly to the Community Liaison Manager; Gary Donlin by the 5th of June 2020.

Feedback Period Closed

02 April 2020

The feedback period following our consultation event on the 3rd March has now closed and the project team will now review all submitted feedback over the coming weeks.This consultation focused heavily on our proposals for an Air Insulated Switchgear (AIS) substation. We had originally planned to return to Kintore to hold a public consultation discussing our proposal for a Gas Insulated Switchgear (GIS) substation, however in line with current advice from the Scottish Government, we do not deem this safe during the current COVID-19 pandemic.It is still the aim of the project team to create consultation materials on our GIS proposals and make these readily available for members of the public to comment on ahead of any planning submission. Once we have done this we will be in touch with residents to provide a further update on the project, however in the meantime if you have any queries or issues then please do not hesitate to contact the project Community Liaison Manager.

Kintore Public Consultation Feedback Period Open

04 March 2020

SSEN Transmission would like to thank all who took the time to attend our recent consultation event in Kintore. It was fantastic to see such a great turn out from members of the local community and to hear their thoughts on our proposal for a new 400kV substation at Leylodge, Kintore. Our deadline for feedback following these events is on the 31st of March and the project Community Liaison Manager will be discussing all submitted feedback with the project team over the coming weeks. Once we have done this we will be in touch with residents to provide a further update on the project, however in the meantime if you have any queries or issues then please do not hesitate to contact the project Community Liaison Manager, Gary Donlin.

Kintore 400kV Substation

Overview

Status: Construction Phase

Report on Consultation

About the Project

Pathway to 2030

The East Coast 400kV Phase 2 Upgrade Projects

Project Updates

Report on Consultation

Report on Consultation

SSEN Transmission sets out next steps for Pathway to 2030 network developments

SSEN Transmission Kintore Project teams help to Be The Difference at The Bothie this Summer

Second Transformer Delivery

Festive period site closure

Transformer Delivery update - November 2022

Extension to Working Hours

April 2022 - Update

Fourth CLG Meeting Held

Third CLG Meeting Held

Closure of Feedback Period

Feedback Period Open

Kintore 132kV Asset Replacement Project - Public Consultation Events

Second CLG Meeting Held

Community Liaison Group (CLG)

May 2021 Update

Planning Application Determination

Section 37 Application

Planning Application Submitted

Kintore Substation Design Change

Feedback Period Closed

Kintore Public Consultation Feedback Period Open

Project Documents

Next steps for Pathway to 2030 network developments

Project Gallery

Progress Gallery

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What is the transmission network?

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Rob Whytock | Community Liaison Manager

Rod Andean | Senior Land Manager

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Report on Consultation

Report on Consultation

SSEN Transmission sets out next steps for Pathway to 2030 network developments