The United Kingdom’s National Wealth Fund (NWF) has announced an £800 million ($1.07 billion) financial guarantee to support SSEN Transmission’s delivery of four major grid upgrade projects under way in the north of Scotland.
The guarantee is being provided against a £1 billion ($1.3 billion) facility with participation from a syndicate of banks. It enables SSEN Transmission to access longer-dated bank loans that better align the debt profile with the life of the assets being financed.
The financial guarantee is ringfenced to support the SSEN Transmission’s Skye Reinforcement project, Argyll and Kintyre 275-kilovolt Strategy and Orkney Connection, along with the Eastern Green Link 2 (EGL2) subsea High-Voltage Direct Current project. These projects will see Orkney connected to the transmission grid for the first time, while the transmission infrastructure serving communities including Skye, Fort Augustus, Argyll and Kintyre will be significantly strengthened.
