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European Investment Bank (EIB) Luxembourg, 23.4.2020

Environmental and Social Completion Sheet (ESCS)

Overview Project Name: SSE MORAY POWER TRANSMISSION Project Number: 2015-0580 Country: Project Description: Electricity transmission system investments in North- Eastern .

Summary of Environmental and Social Assessment at Completion

EIB notes the following key Environmental and Social outcomes at Project Completion.

The project concerned a number of electricity transmission reinforcements in North-Eastern Scotland. The project is divided into six sub-projects: 1. Caithness Moray HVDC Reinforcement: the sub-project concerned an HVDC subsea and underground link across the Moray Firth. Its total length is 161 km of which 113 km is the subsea cable. The two converter stations are located near the Spittal and Blackhillock substations. The sub-project included a new 275/132 kV substation at Spittal. 2. Dounreay – Mybster 275 kV: the sub-project concerned the upgrade of an existing overhead line (Dounreay – – Spittal, 26 km) from 132 kV to 275 kV and a new 275/132 kV substation at Thurso South close to the existing Thurso substation. The sub - project included a new 132 kV double-circuit overhead line from Spittal to Mybster (5 km). 3. A new 275/132 kV substation at Fyrish. 4. A new 275/132 kV substation at Loch Buidhe. 5. Blackhillock substation redevelopment: the sub-project concerned a new 400/275/132 kV AC GIS substation adjacent to the site of the existing Blackhillock 275 kV AC Substation near Keith in Moray to accommodate the new HVDC link. 6. Beauly to Loch Buidhe Reconductoring 275 kV: the sub-project concerned the reconductoring of an overhead 275 kV line between Beauly and the new substation at Loch Buidhe (68 km). The main purpose of the project was the evacuation of the renewable energy (primarily wind) in the region. The sub-project Dounreay – Mybster 275 kV falls under Annex I of the EIA directive, therefore an EIA was carried out. The subsea cables, the converter stations and the Blackhillock substation redevelopment had been screened in by the authorities due to their potential impact and EIAs were carried out for those components as well. All the Non-Technical Summaries of the EIAs are published in EIB’s website. The promoter carried out environmental appraisals for the rest of the components in order to ensure that they are taken forward in a responsible manner with due regard for the environment.

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European Investment Bank (EIB) Luxembourg, 23.4.2020

The various environmental analysis carried out all concluded that no significant impacts are expected to result from the construction and operation of the sub-projects, provided the mitigating measures are implemented as they are proposed to and approved by the relevant authorities. The mitigation measures included the use of horizontal directional drilling (HDD) instead of open trenching or ploughing (in order to avoid the risk of high sediment loads or other contamination), landscape and habitat enhancement works to compensate for the loss of habitat, public road improvement works to address increased traffic, installation of flight diverters on overhead line sections to minimize bird mortality, and avoiding construction activities in key breeding, resting or migration periods. For the subsea cable, measures were also taken to manage the displacement of fishing activity from the installation corridor during the construction phase. New line and cable routes and substation locations have all been selected with a view to minimising as much as possible their proximity to human settlements and sensitive areas. Appropriate Assessments (AA) in line with Article 6.3 of the Habitats Directive were carried out where appropriate. The subsea cable is in the vicinity (more than 3 km away) from two Natura 2000 sites (both designated for wild birds in the UK offshore waters) and appropriate mitigation measures were put in place during construction (e.g. use of HDD in the most sensitive shore areas to reduce turbulence of the water and the use of heavy machinery). The subsea cable also crosses for 1 km a horse mussel bed; horse mussels are listed as a priority habitat in the UK. Potential impacts on the habitat is minimized through laying the cables across the bed with a protective metal sleeving (instead of burying the cables); a monitoring plan is also in place. The other sub-projects are in the vicinity of European sites (more than 2 km away); the analysis carried out concluded these sub-projects have neither significant adverse effects on the environment nor adversely affect the integrity of any European site on view of the site’s conservation objectives. At completion, the Promoter reported that all the required approvals decisions and permits , including the marine consent for the subsea cable, were obtained during the administrative procedure and no significant environment or social issues were noted. The carbon footprint is only associated with the ohmic losses of the new network equipment being installed, and since only renewable generation is transmitted, both absolute and relative emissions are zero

Summary opinion of Environmental and Social aspects at completion: EIB is of the opinion based on reports from the promoter during construction that the Project has been implemented in line with EIB Environmental and Social Standards, applicable at the time of appraisal.