Energy / Viking almost ready to go live
THE COMPANY behind the 103-turbine Viking Energy wind farm is preparing to move into full commercial operation in the coming weeks.
In an update published this morning (Wednesday) SSE plc said its two subsidiaries SSE Renewables and SSEN Transmission had spent a total of £125 million in the local economy.
SSE Renewables has built the wind farm in the central north mainland of Shetland, which has been undergoing final testing. Meanwhile SSEN Transmission is behind the construction of the 260km subsea cable to connect the isles to the national grid.
Thirty five permanent jobs have been created to look after the day-to-day operations and maintenance of the wind farm.
SSE chief executive Alistair Philips-Davies said: “As we near completion of these two major developments, we would like to thank the many local partners in Shetland who have helped deliver these projects alongside SSE Renewables and SSEN Transmission.
“Ensuring we maximise economic opportunities for local communities is an important part of the clean energy transition, and we have been privileged to work with a wide range of local businesses through the development and construction of the wind farm and subsea connection.”
The £125 million investment covers dozens of local businesses and those operating in the islands from large accommodation and transport providers to sole traders.
Bolts Car Hire is one of them. The company’s managing director John Garriock said the projects have been a vital lifeline for his company, particularly during the Covid pandemic.
“The projects have provided a predictable and reliable income to our company and staff members over the past few years, and we’ve been able to grow, reinvest and increase our fleet as a result,” he said.
“The projects have supported not only our 26 car hire employees but the wider company and Bolts’ supply chain of local providers and services, which we are incredibly grateful for as a small, islands-based business.”
But Frank Hay, the chairperson of Sustainable Shetland, the local campaign group against the wind farm, gave a different perspective on the benefits.
“Undoubtedly a few local businesses have chosen to capitalise on the short-term opportunities from the wind farm construction,” he said. “That this largesse is adequate compensation for the environmental damage that has been wreaked on Shetland by SSE is very questionable. “We see little sign of compensation being directed to residents most impacted by the wind farm.
“The benefits to local businesses will more or less finish when the wind farm is completed. It is something of a boom and bust scenario so businesses should be prepared for that. “Hopefully, nothing on the scale of VE will ever happen again on Shetland and the vision of Shetland as a major energy hub will not materialise.”
SSE meanwhile said they had also established the index-linked Viking Community Fund which is anticipated to contribute around £72m to the islands’ economy over the lifetime of the wind farm.
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