New quay planned by Global Energy Group for Port of Nigg to accommodate growing submarine cable work; plans have been submitted to Highland Council over the 1.86 hectare Easter Ross site

A major new quay is in the pipeline for the Port of Nigg under plans submitted to Highland Council..

Global Energy Nigg wants to construct the new quay on a 1.8 hectare area around the eastern side of the existing Inner Dock, with a view to using it to improve access to the new Sumitomo Electrics cable factory, which is under construction nearby.

In a statement submitted to Highland Council on behalf of Global Energy, the developer said: “With an ever-increasing focus on the renewable energy sector, Nigg has developed as a major hub for customers in the international energy business.

“The proposed development involves the provision of a new quay that will increase the amount of berthing space available at the Port of Nigg to improve the capabilities for handling the shipping of renewable energy components.

“In particular, it will allow for the loading of HV [high voltage] submarine cables for supply to the offshore and onshore wind market, which will be a key part of the ongoing expansion of renewable energy initiatives in this rapidly growing sector of the Scottish economy.”

If approved, the new quay will be built on a site which currently "comprises of a 45 degrees slope of existing rock revetment and a strip of quayside running parallel to this."

The eastern boundary of the new quay would run parallel with the nearby B9175 road, which would be separated from it "by a grass verge, security fencing a partial earth screening bund".

Explaining the reason for the new quay in a planning statement issued with their application, Global Energy's agents Mabbett and Associates, said: "The close proximity of the proposed quay to the new [Sumitomo] factory will allow for the finished cables to be directly transferred from storage reels located outside the factory, directly onto carousels located on the deck of the cable installation vessels.

"Loading the cable via any other quay at Nigg would involve longer and more complicated transportation solutions, and added risk of damaging the cable, thus the other alternative locations were quickly discounted in favour of the proposed solution."

Addressing possible visual impact, the statement added: "The primary function of the quay is to export HV [high voltage] cable from the Sumitomo Electrics cable factory. The existing industrial land uses and activity taking place in and around the inner dock quay would significantly limit the magnitude of all landscape and visual effects."

Residents living across the firth from Nigg in Cromarty have complained about noise from the port in the past.

Addressing potential issues of noise arising from the new quayside, the statement claimed: "An Operational Noise Impact Assessment was undertaken for the proposed development... which concluded that the change in noise levels as a result of the quay being used was predicted to be so small it would barely be noticed."

They added: "It is recommended however that existing site-wide noise mitigation measures and best practices are followed throughout.. to minimise baseline noise level creep."

Addressing noise during construction the report added: "It was determined that a contiguous vertical quay wall installed using a proprietary piling system (i.e. down-the-hole) through a temporary working platform was preferred as amongst other advantages this technique would result in a significant reduction in noise / vibration to the surrounding environment (i.e. marine and terrestrial) on comparison with other piling techniques."

They added that the site's location on reclaimed land, means there will be no impact on the historic environment of the wider area and also said that the quay would result in limited visual changes beyond what is already at the port.

It is not known how much money will be spent on the new quay, or the number of new jobs it may create. Global Energy Group has been approached for further details and comments.

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