An artist’s impression visualisation of the proposed Seagreen 1A onshore substation at Cockenzie.
East Lothian Council’s Planning Committee has unanimously approved the detailed application for the Seagreen 1A substation. The decision builds on the 2021 planning permission in principle for the Seagreen 1A onshore substation plans at Cockenzie.
The Seagreen 1A project is a proposal to build the remaining 36 consented offshore wind turbines adjacent to Seagreen Offshore Wind Farm, which required a separate grid connection through the Cockenzie substation. The proposed onshore substation is therefore an essential component to enable connection into the national electricity grid and help Scotland reach a net-zero carbon future.
The substation proposals had been recommended for approval by East Lothian Council planning officers, subject to conditions, and had received no local representations against the plans.
With all planning consent now secured, the developers will continue to engage fully with the supply chain over the coming months to drive the project forward. Delivery of the project is subject to securing an economic route to market ahead of a final investment decision.
Seagreen 1A is being taken forward by Seagreen Wind Energy Ltd (SWEL), a joint venture between SSE Renewables and TotalEnergies.
"We welcome the continued support from East Lothian Council. We have worked hard on the detailed designs and all the proposed Seagreen 1A substation buildings will be significantly lower in height than the existing substation next door. Our plans have also been well received comprising a collection of smaller buildings, rather than one larger building, and for being set back from the road allowing for the incorporation of landscaping."
Simon Hindson Lead Onshore Consents Manager for Seagreen
The Seagreen 1A team is keen to build further links with local community groups and is committed to continuing to show support for local events. Plans are being progressed for the team to meet with local Community Councils to share more information on the project and take forward discussions on community benefit.
About Seagreen 1A:
The Seagreen 1A project proposes to develop a cable corridor to enable a further 500MW of consented renewable energy capacity from Seagreen Offshore Wind Farm to connect to the UK national grid. This would allow the developers to build the remaining 36 of 150 consented offshore wind turbines adjacent to Seagreen Offshore Wind Farm, Scotland's largest offshore wind farm, so increasing the installed capacity at the Seagreen site to almost 1.6GW.
Seagreen is located 27km off the Angus coastline and 66km off the East Lothian coastline. Currently 114 of the 150 consented Seagreen turbines, representing 1.1GW of installed capacity, have been installed offshore and the project is in the final stages of commissioning. Seagreen is due to enter commercial operations in summer 2023.
The Seagreen 1A project concerns the connection of the remaining 36 consented turbines to the national grid via a grid connection at Cockenzie in East Lothian. The plans consist of an offshore cable corridor from the offshore wind farm to Cockenzie and proposals for landfall, the onshore cable corridor and the onshore substation. In August 2021, planning permission in principle (PPP) for the Seagreen 1A substation and onshore cable infrastructure at Cockenzie was unanimously approved by East Lothian Council. In December 2021, Scottish Government Ministers consented the Marine License application, covering the offshore elements of the project, including an export cable approximately 110km in length to connect the project to the grid at Cockenzie.
Visuals of the proposed Seagreen 1A development including images and a video fly-through video of the site can be found on the project website at https://www.seagreen1a.com/news/substation-photomontages.