GR Direct - Winter Sale 2024
Friday 8 November 2024
 10.6°C   S Moderate Breeze
Ocean Kinetics - The Engineering Experts

Letters / Will Viking be viable?

Scotland is set to enjoy a new renewable energy boom, according to an article in a national newspaper earlier this week.

It states that islands like those in Shetland are ideal locations for the development of wind power “because of their natural stormy environments”.

One might be forgiven for thinking that the writer of this article had his tongue in his cheek. Even the most ardent supporters of wind power will concede that not everyone in Scotland – or Shetland – will enjoy this apparent boom, and that stormy conditions mean more frequent shut-downs of wind turbines – and more prolonged construction periods and risk of peat slides.

The vast cost of transmitting this intermittent power to the UK mainland is also less than ideal.

Lord Duncan, who urges “local communities, developers and other stakeholders to work together to ensure that such projects deliver lasting benefits to the islands”, wishes to see Shetland become a platform for all manner of renewable energy sources from all over the North Sea and North Atlantic.

He seems oblivious to the cost of all of this and as to whether or not it will represent value for money to electricity consumers.

The reason for this article was the previous day’s two press releases issued by the UK government. One of these trumpeted that Claire Perry, Minister of State for Energy and Clean Growth was going to announce the next round of CfD auctions for offshore wind, and that “remote island wind” would be eligible to take part.

In fact she appears to have forgotten to do the latter, although the next day she did announce consent for a fracking operation in Lancashire.

In any case, the fact that £57.50 is being heralded by Ms. Perry as the going rate for a “strike price” for offshore wind electricity generation must have implications for the viability of Viking Energy, and the other developers who are queuing up to sink Shetland under hundreds of massive wind turbines.

Become a member of Shetland News

 

This is something that Viking Energy seems unwilling to comment on. If it is a so-called community project, the community should have a right to know.

Viking Energy continues to try to railroad their project through against significant local opposition. They continue to spend large sums of Shetland Charitable Trust money without any guarantee that they will be successful in the CfD auction.

The proposed preferential CfD treatment for remote island wind has simply encouraged over development of wind energy in locations that are, in reality, far from ideal.

Frank Hay
Chairman
Sustainable Shetland
Voe.

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.

 
Categories
Advertisement 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 

Newsletters

Subscribe to a selection of different newsletters from Shetland News, varying from breaking news delivered on the minute, to a weekly round-up of the opinion posts. All delivered straight to your inbox.

Daily Briefing Newsletter Weekly Highlights Newsletter Opinion Newsletter Life in Shetland Newsletter

JavaScript Required

We're sorry, but Shetland News isn't fully functional without JavaScript enabled.
Head over to the help page for instructions on how to enable JavaScript on your browser.

Your Privacy

We use cookies on our site to improve your experience.
By using our service, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy.

Browser is out-of-date

Shetland News isn't fully functional with this version of .
Head over to the help page for instructions on updating your browser for more security, improved speed and the best overall experience on this site.

Interested in Notifications?

Get notifications from Shetland News for important and breaking news.
You can unsubscribe at any time.

Have you considered becoming a member of Shetland News?

If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please consider paying for membership and get the following features and services: -

  • Remove non-local ads;
  • Bookmark posts to read later;
  • Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
  • Hide membership messages;
  • Comments open for discussion.