SSEN Transmission marked a new construction milestone at the Netherton Hub near Peterhead on 29 October 2026, when prepared platforms for two substations and a high voltage direct current converter station were handed over for the next phase of works. The milestone was announced on 30 October. It is a change in the delivery stage of a previously consented project, not a new grant of planning permission.
The Netherton Hub is being developed west of Peterhead in Aberdeenshire as a strategic electricity transmission centre. It will include 400kV and 132kV substations and converter infrastructure for major links carrying power from northern Scotland to other parts of Britain. Handover of the formed ground platforms allows the main construction teams to progress beyond the extensive site preparation already undertaken.
The significance is both practical and geographical. The Netherton Hub sits at the meeting point of onshore transmission upgrades and proposed subsea electricity links. What has changed now is the physical readiness of key working areas, not the status of every associated cable, overhead line or converter facility. Those components still need to be understood through their own design, consent and construction programmes.
What the Netherton Hub handover covers
In its 30 October project update, SSEN Transmission confirmed that the platforms for the planned 400kV and 132kV substations and the Spittal to Peterhead high voltage direct current (HVDC) converter station had been handed over. The event took place on Thursday 29 October with representatives of SSEN, Balfour Beatty and local contractors. It marks the transition into the next construction phase.
Groundworks are not the same as energising a substation. Earthmoving, cable works and platform formation have prepared areas where buildings and electrical equipment can be installed. The operator has not announced that these new installations are complete or operating. Its wording is important because construction headlines sometimes compress years of engineering and approvals into an impression of immediate delivery.
The Netherton Hub will also accommodate converter stations associated with Eastern Green Link 3 and Eastern Green Link 5. SSEN describes the wider programme as part of its £29 billion investment in the transmission network across northern Scotland. That figure is for the operator’s wider investment programme and must not be reported as the cost of this single site.
Why Peterhead is important to Scotland’s electricity network
The development brings several types of electricity infrastructure together. The 400kV alternating current substation will serve high-capacity transmission connections. A 132kV substation will support further generation and storage connections, while HVDC converter stations allow electricity to be transferred efficiently over long distances through specialist cable systems.
For planning purposes, the Netherton Hub is therefore more than one building or one application for an electrical compound. It is a concentration of infrastructure that connects to projects extending well beyond Aberdeenshire. Understanding the land use, cumulative environmental effects and separate consenting routes for lines and converter works is essential when assessing the overall programme.
SSEN’s separate overhead-line tie-in project describes a new 400kV overhead line tie-in to connect the proposed Netherton Hub to the existing transmission network. That connection is a separate project from the platform handover, and the handover should not be read as consent for it.
The earlier planning permission and conditions
Aberdeenshire Council considered the original hub under application APP/2024/1714. The council’s May 2025 announcement described the proposal as a strategic electricity transmission hub west of Parkhill Farm, Blackhills, incorporating substations, converter stations, a transmission hall, a spares warehouse and an operations base. A pre-determination hearing preceded the council’s planning decision later in 2025.
Aberdeenshire Council granted planning consent for the hub in August 2025. The operator subsequently progressed preparatory works. These earlier events explain why the October 2026 announcement is about construction readiness: the project has moved beyond a mere expression of interest, but the earlier planning approval should not be re-labelled as newly issued.
Planning conditions and other permissions remain relevant throughout delivery. The development spans a substantial former agricultural site with visual, landscape, drainage and ecological considerations. Compliance with conditions and the practical management of works determine how an agreed principle translates into lawful and acceptable construction on the ground. Planning Geek’s Scottish planning guide explains why the Scottish system should not be confused with the procedures that apply in England.
Local contractors and construction employment
The Netherton Hub announcement also provides a snapshot of the local economic effects of preparatory works. SSEN reports £31.1 million spent with Aberdeenshire suppliers during the initial stages, supporting around 230 local jobs. Those are reported outcomes from works undertaken to date, not a forecast of all employment or economic benefit over the entire life of the project.
Sandy Mactaggart, SSEN Transmission’s Director of Offshore Delivery, described the stage in these terms: The handover of these platforms marks another major step forward for Netherton Hub
. The company’s explanation emphasises the value of local contractors and the practical work needed before the main substation and converter facilities can advance.
Balfour Beatty is among the contractors involved, alongside Scottish firms working on the platform formation and enabling works. SSEN says one local contracting partnership supported 79 roles at peak, including new appointments and apprenticeships. Another contractor expects its forthcoming main works to support more than 35 local jobs. These are different measures and should not simply be added to the overall job figure as if they represented separate permanent positions.
What the new construction stage does and does not mean
There is a distinction between a constructed platform, a completed building, installed electrical equipment and an energised connection. The Netherton Hub milestone establishes that the prepared platforms were handed over on 29 October, enabling further construction. It does not establish commissioning dates, completion of all hub components or consent for every associated connection project.
It also does not remove the ordinary need to manage construction traffic, drainage, landscape effects and conditions attached to the planning permission. Large transmission sites are often developed in phases, with overlapping programmes for groundworks, buildings, switchgear, cabling and network connections. Those stages may have different contractors and regulatory requirements.
The wider planning lesson is straightforward. A major national energy programme only becomes real through specific local decisions and physical milestones. Here, the meaningful new event is the handover of key working platforms and the transition towards main construction near Peterhead. Future news should be tied to subsequent actual construction, consent or commissioning stages rather than treating each publicity update as a fresh planning approval.
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