Electrical Connection
The electrical interconnector cable
Once power has been generated, if it cannot be immediately distributed for consumption, then it must be transmitted to a demand area. The Viking Energy project will generate considerably more power than Shetland requires locally and so must consider transmission of generated power to elsewhere. In the absence of an economic mechanism for energy conservation and storage, the Viking Energy project has been based on the export of produced electricity to the Scottish Mainland via an interconnector cable.
The precise details of the route such a connection would take are not yet available and will be advanced by National Grid (working with other transmission companies); not Viking Energy. In May 2006 it was announced that the Scottish Executive was commissioning a study to investigate potential sub-sea cable routes between the Scottish Mainland and Scottish Islands. Deputy First-Minster Nicol Stephen said the studies would be given "high priority".