Volunteers from SSEN Transmission‘s Spittal to Peterhead project joined forces with contractor partners to carry out a major beach clean at Rattray Head, helping to protect the local coastline and give back to the community.
Around 12 volunteers from SSEN Transmission, NKT and Nicol of Skene took part in the clean-up event, focusing their efforts on Rattray Head beach, where the future Spittal to Peterhead subsea cable link is planned to make landfall.
The volunteer team, which included project managers, land and marine construction engineers, and safety specialists, spent the day collecting litter and marine debris from the beach and surrounding area. By the end of the clean-up, volunteers had filled a flat-bed trailer with waste, including numerous bags of rubbish, bundles of tangled ropes, tyres, and a range of plastic debris.
The initiative was organised as an opportunity for the project team to make a positive contribution to an area that will play an important role in the delivery of the Spittal to Peterhead project and to support the ongoing care of the local environment.
The team also expressed its gratitude to the local landowner, who kindly provided access to the beach for project vehicles where required, helping to make the clean-up possible.
George Barnard, Project Manager at SSEN Transmission, said:
“As a project team, we wanted to take the opportunity to give something back to the local area and help care for an important part of the coastline that we will be working alongside in the future.
“Rattray Head is where our future subsea cable will come ashore as part of the Spittal to Peterhead project, so organising a beach clean here felt like a natural way for us to make a positive contribution. It was fantastic to see colleagues from SSEN Transmission, NKT and Nicol of Skene come together and make such a tangible difference.
“The volume of litter and marine debris collected highlights the value of initiatives like this, and we’re grateful to everyone who gave up their time to take part.
“Having recently started major construction work at Rattray Head, we thank the local community for their continued patience and we will ensure to keep them updated as the project progresses.”
The Spittal to Peterhead project forms part of SSEN Transmission’s wider investment programme to reinforce the electricity transmission network in the north of Scotland, helping to transport increasing volumes of renewable energy and support national energy security and net zero ambitions.
Recently, horizontal-directional drilling (HDD) work began on the project, marking the start of major construction for the future subsea cable.