In the Ayrshire Advertiser today, the above and:

The next step has been taken in plans for the Western Link 2 electricity project linking Ayrshire with the west coast of Wales. Applicants are seeking a scoping opinion relating to the proposed high-voltage direct-current subsea cable. The project is being jointly developed by National Grid and Scottish Power Energy Networks (SPEN).

The project involves a 13km underground cable linking a new converter station next to Kilmarnock South substation with a landfall point on the coast near Monkton. There will be a 30km marine HVDC cable between Monkton and Grangestone, north of Girvan, and a new switching station at Grangestone. Marine HVDC cables will then be laid heading south from Grangestone in Scottish waters.

I year ago, we wrote about this project:

In the map above you can see the full range of networks transferring electricity from wind farms in Scottish waters, across the border into England & Wales. It’s a dramatic illustration of the UK’s increasing dependency on Scotland’s electricity generation.

Just how much?

From Energy Statistics for Scotland – Q2 2025 published in September 2025:

In the second quarter of 2025, 8.1 TWh of renewable electricity was generated in Scotland. This is the most renewable electricity generated in the second quarter of any year in Scotland

Scotland’s capacity for electricity generation from renewable sources has continued to increase and currently stands at 17.7 GW – a 4.3% increase compared to 17.0 GW at the end of the second quarter of 2024

As of the end of June 2025, there were 1,114 renewable energy projects with an estimated capacity of 76.5 GW in the planning pipeline in Scotland. https://www.gov.scot/publications/energy-statistics-for-scotland-q2-2025/

From 2004 to 2023, Scotland transferred 232 097 GWh of electricity across the border to England: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-trends-december-2024-special-feature-articles

1GWh is worth around £200 000 – £300 000 per year. https://www.iea.org/reports/electricity-mid-year-update-2025/prices-trends-in-wholesale-markets-differ-across-regions

So, 232 097 GWh is worth around £60 billion. Does Scotland get a share of that revenue? Will Ayrshire? We’ll see below.

In this map below, you can see the intended route from North Ayrshire to North Wales and to the large population in the West Midlands, around Birmingham but it also reveals the location of three developments which may be very disruptive for local communities and the environment in Monkton, Kilmarnock and Girvan.

SP describe these as:

• A 13km underground cable linking a new converter station next to Kilmarnock South substation with a landfall point on the coast near Monkton, Ayrshire
• A 30km offshore HVDC cable between Monkton and a new switching station at Grangestone, north of Girvan in Ayrshire

There is some detail for clearly very large installations at: https://www.spenergynetworks.co.uk/pages/western_link_2.aspx#tablist1-panel1

Last year I wrote:

An expert, independent, impact assessment needs to be done soon. This should not be done by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) given their history of succumbing to pressure from such as the MoD, in approving increased nuclear submarine emissions levels at Coulport and Rosyth. Equally university researchers dependent on industry and/or government funding are not suitable for this.

Update November 2026, one year later – A full, completed independent expert impact assessment (such as a finished Environmental Impact Assessment) has not yet been done for Western Link 2.

In the meantime, we can all take part in this, researching, disseminating and using what we find to engage with local politicians to act on our behalf.

First, are there any economic benefits for Scotland or for Ayrshire from the already numerous cables running from Scotland to England?

Does the Scottish Government Receive Direct Revenue for electricity transfers to the rest of the UK?

No to both.

The Scottish Government does not receive direct revenue from these exports. The UK’s electricity market, privatized since the 1980s, means:

• Private companies generate and sell the electricity on the wholesale market.
• Profits from sales (including to English consumers) flow to these companies, not to devolved governments.
• There is no specific fiscal transfer or payment mechanism from the UK Government to Scotland for exported renewable electricity, unlike some resource-based revenues (e.g., oil and gas, which are reserved to Westminster).

Source: https://x.com/i/grok?conversation=1983090494923030766

I’m no accountant but its clear that SP pays corporation tax for its activity in the UK directly to HMRC and other income is gathered by its owner Iberdola, HQ in Bilbao, Spain. In 2024, they paid out E6.4bn to shareholders and E1.2bn in bonuses. https://www.iberdrola.com/press-room/news/detail/iberdrola-will-pay-at-least-0-404-euros-per-share-as-dividend-in-july-15-1-more-than-in-2024

As far as I can see, their declared profits before tax in the UK were£1.6bn but they only paid £280m in corporation tax to HMRC, well below the 25% official rate.

I’m not equipped to report on this accounting with confidence but it seems clear, they make a lot of money in the UK, pay themselves and their shareholders lots but far less to the HMRC that might then find its way back to spending in communities such as Ayrshire.

Turning to domestic consumers and customers of SP in Ayrshire, do they benefit from that?

No. See this:

So, the people of Ayrshire pay the most of SP’s customers in both fixed and unit charges. Remember, these small unit differences add up to substantial figures over the weeks, months and years.

How many permanent jobs will SP western link 2 provide?

Publicly available information on Western Link 2 does not specify a number of permanent jobs the project will provide. The project is still in consultation, and detailed economic impact assessments (including job creation forecasts) have not yet been released. SP Energy Networks highlights general economic benefits, such as boosting the Scottish economy through increased network capacity, enabling new industry and housing developments, and attracting investment. However, no quantitative data on jobs—permanent or otherwise—is provided in project documents or announcements. For context, the original Western Link (operational since 2017) supported over 450 jobs during its planning and construction phases, but permanent operational jobs were not quantified separately in available sources. https://x.com/i/grok?conversation=1983253421768704117

That last bit tells you everything – not that many? How about new converter station next to Kilmarnock South?

How many staff does an electricity converter station typically require?

A typical HVDC (High Voltage Direct Current) converter station—the most common type of “electricity converter station”—requires 10 to 30 permanent operations and maintenance (O&M) staff during normal operation. This varies by size, technology, and location: https://x.com/i/grok?conversation=1983255809409601811

I’m getting a clear picture here – in return for major disruption, massive wealth for shareholders and executives outside of the UK, limited revenue for HMRC, no revenue for the Scottish Government, no benefits for local consumers, damn few permanent jobs and we haven’t yet got to environmental harms.

If we were independent, things might be different. We could tax them properly like Norway does!

Environmental Concerns?

The Grok AI, belonging to Elon Musk has clear pro-business biases built in so I had to squeeze this out of it with supplementary questions such as: Do environmental groups have stronger more negative views?

These seem reasonable concerns to me.

To conclude, as with much I write here, I offer it as the quick response of a generalist researcher so, I know there’s knowledge and experience out there in the 1 500 TuS followers and 20-30 000 across social media. Please let me know what you think.