ENERGY company SSE has announced plans to invest more than £15 billion in Scotland’s electricity infrastructure system this decade to help boost provision of clean energy.
The Perth-headquartered company plans to invest in key technologies including new offshore wind, critical network upgrades, carbon capture and storage (CCS), batteries and hydroelectric power.
SSE said that assuming a “continued supportive policy environment”, its investment plans will see it investing significantly more than it makes in profits over the next few years in order to realise its growth opportunities and accelerate the transition to net zero.
The investment in Scotland equates to almost £3000 per head of population. The company said that adjusted operating profit rose 15% in 2020/21 to £1.5bn in the year to March, while pre-tax profits hit £3.5 billion, up 44%.
A good part of this rise came from the SSE Thermal unit of the business which runs several gas power plants that supply electricity to the grid. It comes as as reports emerged that the Government is considering including energy generators in a potential windfall tax. This unit saw a 91% rise in adjusted operating profit, hitting £306 million.
Alistair Phillips-Davies, chief executive of SSE, said: “We’ve already achieved a lot, but we’re only just getting started.
“Against the backdrop of a global gas crisis, we are investing far more than we are making in profit to deliver clean homegrown energy that will bolster security, cut emissions and make energy more affordable over the long term.
“We have plans to invest more than £15bn in Scotland and in excess of £24bn in Britain alone by 2030 to help deliver Government’s ambitious targets. These results demonstrate the strength of our strategy and highly complementary business mix, the passion and commitment of our people, and our ability to deliver for all our stakeholders as we create thousands of jobs and contribute billions to Scottish GDP.”
SSE said it is developing Scotland’s largest and the world’s deepest tethered offshore wind farm, Seagreen off the coast of Angus; and what will be one of Europe’s most productive onshore wind farms, Viking, on Shetland.
Earlier this year it was confirmed the business had secured rights to develop a new giant floating offshore wind farm off the coast of Angus. It is also constructing the electricity cable which will connect Shetland to the UK mainland for the first time, securing the islands’ energy supply and transporting renewable energy to the national electricity grid.
Scotland’s Net Zero and Energy Secretary, Michael Matheson, said: “Our abundant natural resources, expertise and proven track record in decarbonisation make Scotland perfectly placed to become a global powerhouse of renewable energy, as clearly evidenced by the significant investment plan from SSE.”
