New £350m Subsea Cable Manufacturing Plant Now Underway

Scotland's enterprise agencies has welcomed the news that Sumitomo Electric Ltd. has broken ground on its new £350m subsea cable manufacturing plant at Port of Nigg on the Cromarty Firth.

The Chief Executives of the enterprise agencies supporting the company have welcomed this significant milestone for Scotland's offshore wind supply chain.

Adrian Gillespie, Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise, said: "Today marks an important milestone for Sumitomo Electric Ltd's planned £350m investment in the Scottish renewable energy supply chain.

"The company's high voltage subsea cable manufacturing site at Port of Nigg is a critical addition to Scotland's growing offshore wind supply chain, better enabling us to seize the economic opportunities presented by the global energy transition.

"Scottish Enterprise's energy transition mission aims to accelerate technology innovation, supply chain capability and investment in manufacturing and key infrastructure. Sumitomo is a great example of this mission in action, and we'll continue to work closely with them, both domestically and through our international arm Scottish Development International, as their plans for Scotland develop."


In other welcome news today, SSEN Transmission has announced that Sumitomo is the preferred bidder for its proposed Shetland 2 High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) link subsea cable, which will help enable the connection of three ScotWind offshore wind farm sites adjacent to Shetland. It will also support local and national decarbonisation and energy security ambitions, further securing Shetland's future electricity needs.

Stuart Black, Chief Executive of Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), said: "Today's ground-breaking event by Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd is a great boost for the Highlands and Islands economy and demonstrates strong investor confidence in Scotland.

"With the company also named as preferred bidder for SSEN's Shetland 2 link, we now see the exciting prospect of high voltage subsea cables manufactured here in the Highlands being deployed in our own coastal waters and helping to strengthen the UK electricity grid.

"At £350m, the Sumitomo project is one of the biggest inward investments we've ever attracted to the Highlands and Islands, working in partnership with our colleagues in Scottish Development International and Scottish Enterprise.

"The new Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport played an important role in the company's decision which we expect will lead to around 300 Scottish jobs created on site and in the supply chain."