We are proposing to bring the subsea cables ashore at Kinghorn, south of Kirkcaldy, where they will be joined to underground cables in a buried pit. Once installation is complete, the ground will be reinstated and no permanent above-ground infrastructure will be visible.
We selected Kinghorn as the landfall site after careful appraisal of a number of potential options along the Fife coast, including at Largo Bay and Buckhaven. Bringing the cables ashore at Kinghorn allows a shorter onshore cable route to Westfield (around 16.4km from Kinghorn compared to around 29km from Largo Bay) and avoids centres of population, thereby minimising disturbance to local communities.
The subsea cables will be installed at the landfall site below ground using Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) to minimise any impact on the sensitive coastal environment and protected sites, and avoiding disturbance to the seal haul-out area to the north.
Landfall Constraints Plan
Following the first round of consultation in 2024, our detailed design work has enabled us to move the proposed Horizontal Directional Drill compound to the north-east of the preferred site, further away from homes to the south at Kinghorn.
Further work will focus on the design of the HDD compound site to ensure the drill works are carried out as sensitively as possible both for the residents and for the environment and wildlife (including seals and overwintering birds). This will be driven by the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) which will be undertaken following the completion of the consultation and