Sumitomo opens UK's first HVDC subsea cable factory at Port of Nigg
The £350m Highlands plant will make cables for the planned Scotland-to-England transmission network, and politicians say it will support offshore wind development and energy security.
The UK's first high voltage direct current (HVDC) subsea cable factory has opened at the Port of Nigg in the Highlands, as BBC News reported.
The facility, on the Cromarty Firth, is operated by Japanese firm Sumitomo. The company said its cables will support the UK's so-called electricity superhighway, the network of cables planned to run between Scotland and England.
Sumitomo said HVDC cables can carry a much higher volume of useable energy from offshore wind farms than traditional high voltage alternating current cables. It described them as important for moving "massive amounts of Scottish wind power directly to high-demand areas in the rest of the UK".
Jobs and investment
Sumitomo claimed the factory will create up to 250 direct jobs and support more than 400 further roles across the wider supply chain.
First Minister John Swinney put the cost of the facility at £350m and called it a strong vote of confidence in Scotland's people, skills and engineering. He said that, as the first factory of its kind in the UK, it would help unlock offshore wind potential while "bolstering energy security".
Swinney attended the opening with Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander, who said Scotland was helping to solve one of the biggest challenges of the clean energy transition: connecting offshore wind to where it is needed most.
Free port location
The plant sits within the Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport. The area has been designated by the Scottish and UK governments, and normal tax and customs rules do not apply in full there.
