Sumitomo Electric celebrates groundbreaking of new Subsea Cable Manufacturing Factory

Global Energy Group was pleased to attend Sumitomo Electric’s groundbreaking ceremony adjacent to the Port of Nigg, for their planned £350m state-of-the-art subsea high voltage cable manufacturing facility.

Attended by Global Energy Group Chairman, Roy MacGregor and Executive Director, Iain Sinclair, the ceremony took place on the 15-hectare site, where the 57,500 sqm factory will be built at Nigg.

The development has been recognised as the largest inward investment project for the Scottish Highlands and will supply critical elements for the reinforcement of the UK electricity transmission grid and for connecting renewable energy production facilities to the grid.

Representatives from the Scottish and UK Governments, The Highland Council, Highland & Islands Enterprise and Scottish Development International, were among those attending the event to celebrate the significant milestone.

During the event, SSEN Transmission announced the selection of Sumitomo and its cable installation partner Van Oord, as preferred bidders for the Shetland 2 525kV High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) subsea power cable project, the anchor project enabling construction work to commence.

The designation of Inverness and the Cromarty Firth as a Scottish Green Freeport played a significant part in attracting the company to the region and represents a major first step toward creating a high-value manufacturing cluster in the area – a core aim of the Inverness & Cromarty Firth Green Freeport.

Global Energy Group, which owns the Port of Nigg, has engaged with Sumitomo as their localised industrial partner for the project, which will lead to hundreds of sustainable high-value jobs being created in the area and is an important step towards Scotland’s transition to a net zero economy.