SSE plans to invest around £2bn largely in low carbon power projects this year.
This investment is part of a £7.5bn investment plan to 2025 including building the world’s biggest offshore wind farm at Dogger Bank, Scotland’s largest at Seagreen and up to £2.8bn to be invested (by 2026) in connecting up huge swathes of new renewable power and transporting it via the electricity transmission system.
SSE also re-emphasised its ambition to ramp up renewable development to reach a run rate of at least 1GW of new assets a year during the second half of the decade. This comes after it reduced the carbon intensity of its generated electricity to the lowest levels since its recording began.
It also said it will be seeking further opportunities overseas to export its renewables and engineering expertise to other countries.
Alistair Phillips-Davies, SSE Chief Executive, said: “The UK is leading the world in the decarbonisation agenda and SSE is powering that change – we want to keep the momentum up and ensure the economic recovery helps tackle the climate emergency too.
“This is a pivotal year for the planet in our fight against climate change and as a Principal Partner of COP26, we are supporting the UK Government’s efforts to drive more urgent and ambitious climate action.
“At the same time we are focused on ensuring equitable social outcomes from the net zero transition; and through our investment programme we are building projects that will not only help tackle climate change but will create green jobs and revitalise communities along the way.”
Alongside its renewable investments, SSE’s electricity transmission business is anticipating spending £2.8bn through to 2026 to connect more green power in the race to Net Zero.
It is planning an undersea electricity super highway on the east coast to bring more renewable power from the wet and windy north of Scotland to centres of population and is working on other potential opportunities to connect more islands to the electricity grid to unlock more renewable resources.
SSE is also working with Equinor to develop plans for carbon capture and storage in the Humber and Peterhead as well as potentially the world’s first hydrogen power station. It is also exploring options to build Coire Glas, a huge pumped storage hydro station that could power three million homes for up to 24 hours and act as a natural battery for when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine.
