Letters / Throwing good money after bad
Just a mere 140 members from Shetland’s business community have called on the Shetland Charitable Trust to pour another £6.3 million ‘investment’ into Viking Energy. It comes as no surprise that so few businesses signed their letter.
No right thinking business would recommend such a huge ‘investment’ in a scheme that has no detailed and costed business plan.
No right thinking business would recommend investment in a scheme from which the proposed income is a complete ‘guesstimate’ based on possible future subsidy.
No right thinking business would recommend investment in an electricity producer whose chairman has given Ofgem the green light to keep transmission charges high.
No right thinking business would recommend investment in project that the SIC’s planning department advises is inappropriate for Shetland.
No right thinking business would recommend investment in a scheme that will blight the lives of many hundreds of their customers for the foreseeable future.
But then it is easy for a few businesses to sign a letter when the £6.3 million will not be coming out of their pockets. If Viking Energy’s wind farm are such a sure-fire bet then why don’t those businesses put up a bond of £6.3 million to cover losses to the charitable trust if the scheme fails to deliver?
Viking Energy is milking Shetland’s charitable funds for every penny it can get now, because at the end of the day they know that this scheme can never be financially viable. It is surely now time for trustees and councillors not to throw good money after bad and put an end to their gravy train.
Allen Fraser
Shetland Geotours
Hamnavoe
Burra
Become a member of Shetland News
Shetland News is asking its many readers to consider paying for membership to get additional features and services: -
- Remove non-local ads;
- Bookmark posts to read later;
- Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
- Hide membership messages;
- Comments open for discussion.
If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please become a member of Shetland News by either making a single payment, or setting up a monthly, quarterly or yearly subscription.
Already a member? Sign in to hide this message.
