Energy / SSE ‘recognises strength of feeling’ against Viking wind farm
Photo: Malcolm Younger/Millgaet Media
SCOTTISH and Southern Energy (SSE) says it recognises the “strength of feeling amongst some in the local community” against the Viking Energy wind farm as protestors gathered outside a gala event on Monday evening.
But it says its wind farm and the associated HVDC subsea cable connecting Shetland to the UK mainland have “already had a positive impact on the local economy and employment”.
Around 20 people turned out to protest outside the Shetland Museum yesterday evening as SSE celebrated the competition of the 103-turbine Viking wind farm.
A petition calling on councillors not to attend was handed over to SIC leader Emma Macdonald.
SSE, which has developed the wind farm as well as the subsea cable, said in response: “We recognise the strength of feeling amongst some in the local community regarding the impact of energy infrastructure development in Shetland, as reflected by the petition which Shetland Islands Council Leader, Emma Macdonald, presented on behalf of petitioners at Monday’s event to mark the completion of the Viking Energy Wind Farm and Shetland HVDC link.
“These projects – which combined have helped connect Shetland to the GB energy system for the first time and will ultimately help deliver energy security for homes and businesses in Shetland with clean, homegrown power – have already had a positive impact on the local economy and employment.”
SSE said during peak construction the projects supported around 650 jobs and contributed £125 million to the Shetland economy.
“The ongoing operations of the Viking Wind Farm alone will support 35 permanent roles and is expected to contribute over £70 million to the local economy over the lifetime of the wind farm,” a spokesperson added.
“With plans progressing for a potential second HVDC link to Shetland, which is required to unlock Shetland’s offshore wind potential and connect the ScotWind sites off the islands’ east coast, we are committed to build on these positive economic impacts and leave a lasting legacy for current and future generations.”
Meanwhile the Shetland Greens branch said it is “furious” after the Renewable Energy Foundation appeared to show that SSE is “selling electricity at three times the price that it agreed with the UK Government”.
Under the UK Government Contracts for Difference (CfD) subsidy scheme SSE was awarded a contract for a guaranteed electricity price of £67/MWh.
The Renewable Energy Foundation says it estimates that SSE may have received £10 million through Viking in August – equating to around £199/MWh.
SSE has also been receiving “constraint” payments which are provided to operators when asked to reduce output to manage network flow.
Figures show that SSE received more than £2 million in August from Viking constraint payments.
Green councillor Alex Armitage called SSE chief executive Alistair Phillips-Davies a “pirate” – claiming that the company “knew that it would be operating in a constrained environment and generating profit from switching off turbines”.
He added: “We face an Orwellian winter in Shetland. Extortionate electricity prices will force folk to have to switch off their heating to save money, yet at the same time there could well be someone at SSE flicking a switch to turn off Viking’s turbines that could, at minimal extra cost to SSE, be turned back on to warm those folk’s homes.”
However at the moment Shetland’s energy network is yet to be connected to the new set-up, with Lerwick power station only expected to go into standby mode next year once work on underground and overhead lines between Kergord and Lerwick, and ‘grid supply point’ infrastructure, is finished.
Armitage also alleged “SSE misled the public on Viking’s carbon credentials” and that the company has “lost its social license to operate in Shetland”.
“SSE needs to do better than the pittance Shetland gets in ‘community benefit’,” he added.
“We need to find a way to use constrained power locally, at a reasonable price. Alistair Phillips-Davies could be a saviour for Shetlanders this winter; he doesn’t have to be the corporate villain.”
Responding the Green claims a SSE spokesperson said on Tuesday afternoon that the decision to constrain energy from the Viking wind farm was a decision for the network operator and had nothing to do with SSE.
“Constraint payments are made when the energy being produced in one part of the country can’t get to another because there simply isn’t the capacity to carry it,” the spokesperson said.
“The constraint of any operational energy asset, such as Viking Wind Farm, is a decision for the electricity system operator alone and is not taken by any individual company.
“The clear solution to improving capacity on the grid is to speed up investment in electricity networks so the UK can get the most out of its enviable renewable energy resources.
“A range of grid upgrade projects are already in development which will help alleviate the issue by increasing available grid capacity, and so will get more homegrown energy to where it’s needed.
“SSE is investing billions of pounds every year, much more than it makes in profits, in building the electricity infrastructure that will allow the UK, including Shetland, to fully benefit from its vast resources of clean, homegrown energy.”
