Beauly-Denny power upgrade case ‘not made’

A “need” to replace the 140-mile Beauly-Denny power line with many larger pylons has not been proved despite a £10million public inquiry into the plan, a former network director of the National Grid has told the Scottish Government.

Colin Gibson, who has 40 years’ experience in the industry, has written to Energy Minister Jim Mather, telling him the case had “not been made, on technical or economic grounds”.

He has effectively told the minister whose department is currently considering the findings of the 2007 public inquiry that Scottish and Southern Energy’s £320million ambitions for the line should be rejected.

Mr Gibson has echoed a call from former Scottish Power chairman Sir Donald Miller for the Scottish Government to bar SSE’s plans for driving a bigger pylon line through the heart of the Highlands including the Cairngorms National Park – something more than 17,000 people registered their objections to.

The two experts favour a less controversial option of upgrading the existing east coast transmission lines.

Mr Gibson said insufficient consideration appeared to have been given to a “less environmentally damaging” and “probably cheaper” upgrade of the east coast links.

The concerns are shared by Mid-Scotland Tory MSP Murdo Fraser and his Fife colleague Liz Smith, who have lodged a series of parliamentary questions on the subject, asking ministers why alternatives were not “fully discussed” in the inquiry.

SSE has consistently argued that a central route was the most cost-effective and has ruled out any substantive burying of cables, claiming that could multiply the cost tenfold. It argues the upgrade is essential to meet the expected influx of additional power from green energy production. It has repeatedly stated the forum for such a debate was a public inquiry – the verdict of which may not be known for a year.