The project worth £22.3m will help replace transmission towers with underground cables along Loch Lomond & the Trossachs National Park. This assigned project allows SSEN Transmission to welcome energy regulator Ofgem’s decision.
The decision led to approval of funding to remove a total of 7.8km of overhead line from the area as part of the Visual Impact of Scottish Transmission Assets (Vista) scheme. The project will see the removal of the overhead line and 31 steel lattice towers between Killin substation and Lix Toll.
The investment is being funded as part of a £500m scheme administered by Ofgem. It further allows replacing the infrastructure with underground electricity cables. The scheme allows the three GB electricity transmission owners to bid for funding.
The approval of the project mitigates the impact of historic electricity infrastructure in National Parks and National Scenic Areas.This is SSEN Transmission’s fourth Vista project to be approved by Ofgem.
The first project in Loch Tummel involved improving the visual impact through a combination of tower painting, tree planting and landscaping of 7km of overhead line. Work on the second project was completed in December 2020 with the removal of 12km of overhead line and 46 towers in the Cairngorm National Park.
The works began on the most recent project earlier this year which involved the removal of two sections of 132kv overhead line and putting 4.5km of overhead line underground from Derrydaroch and Crianlarich near Glen Falloch.
Additionally, the overhead lines were laid for 3km between Sloy Dam and Sloy Power Station. Work on the project is expected to begin in early summer and putting the cables underground is expected to be completed by January 2023.
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