Energy / No objections to plans to extend Yell wind farm’s lifespan
Meanwhile Ofgem has provisionally approved plans for a grid supply point in Lerwick
SHETLAND Islands Council (SIC) will offer no objections to plans to extend the lifespan of a proposed wind farm in Yell.
The developer of the 17-turbine Beaw Field farm in the south of the island wants to vary its consent to extend the lifespan from 25 to 40 years.
Peel Energy has also applied to the Scottish Government’s energy consents unit to move the cut-off point for the start of the development to November 2024.
The SIC is a statutory consultee in the process and the application went in front of the planning committee on Monday.
There was little debate and councillors sided with the planning service’s recommendation to offer no objections.
Peel was given consent for the wind farm in the south of Yell in 2017, and this stipulated that development should commence within five years – or November 2022.
During this period Peel applied for government subsidy from the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme.
Earlier this year it was confirmed the wind farm was successful in its latest CfD application.
The Scottish Government’s energy consents unit is dealing with the Beaw Field case as the total generating capacity would be above 50MW.
It is one of two wind farms proposed for Yell – the other being the 18-turbine Energy Isles development in the north west of the island.
Meanwhile energy regulator Ofgem has given its backing to a planned ‘grid supply point’ at Gremista in Lerwick.
The piece of infrastructure, which already has planning permission, is proposed to enable local supply once the 103-turbine Viking Energy wind farm and interconnector cable go live in 2024.
Ground investigations and initial archaeological assessments have already been carried out for the Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission project.
A call from Ofgem for feedback on the plans was described as a “consultation in name only” by local campaign group Sustainable Shetland.
But the regulator has now confirmed that following the consultation it has provisionally decided to approve the project, “subject to our assessment of the efficient costs thereof”.
It said it was the “most appropriate solution” for securing Shetland’s energy supply after the interconnection cable goes live and the diesel-fuelled Lerwick Power Station moves into standby mode.
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