An energy management plant that will stabilise the flow of electricity coming from renewable sources to the national grid could be built near Keith.
TINZ Programme 1 ProjectCo3 Limited submitted a proposal of application notice with Moray Council last month for the development next to the existing Blackhillock substation built to deal with power from the Beatrice offshore wind farm.
Covering an area of 24 football pitches, Blackhillock is the largest substation in the UK.
The new proposal includes synchronous compensators that help improve fluctuating voltages from renewable sources to more predictable levels.
Members of the planning and regulatory services committee on September 28 will be able to highlight potential issues and give provisional views on the proposal to be fed back to the developer.
As it is a major development planning permission will be required and public consultations held.
In his report, principal planning officer Neal MacPherson said: “The purpose of synchronous compensators is to improve stability in the electricity network and to maintain voltages at a constant.
“Such facilities effectively assist the electricity network provider to smooth out the voltage in the national grid when factors such as the output from renewables is not constant or wholly predicable.
“The applicants have used the council’s pre-application advice service to assist in identifying key issues and information that would be expected to accompany any formal application.”
The new electrical works are expected to be built on existing landscaping for the substation.
Strathisla Community Council will be asked to comment on the proposal and an online consultation is expected to be held before planning permission is applied for.
Construction of the Blackhillock substation was completed in 2019, allowing power from renewable sources to flow along the 160km Caithness to Moray subsea power line and on to the national grid.