Energy / Mossy Hill substation set to be objected to by community council
LERWICK Community Council is to object to plans to build a 132kV substation to connect to the proposed eight-turbine Mossy Hill wind farm.
Community councillors cited a “lack of information” about whether power cables linking to the substation would be built over or underground as one reason for their decision.
Applicant Statkraft lodged the plans for the outskirts of Lerwick last month, with the infrastructure set to provide space for transformer equipment for Statkraft and electrical switchgear for SSEN Transmission.
Statkraft hopes to link the substation into SSE’s new underground power line between Kergord and Gremista.
But Lerwick Community Council decided on Monday night to object to the plans, with chairman Jim Anderson saying there was “no mention” of how infrastructure would be connected to the new building.
Lerwick councillor Gary Robinson, who is also the SIC’s depute leader, said he agreed with a recent comment that one all-encompassing planning application should be lodged for projects like the Mossy Hill wind farm.
“It’s this drip, drip, drip through the planning system,” he said.
“Our own planning team must be fed up with it.
“Everything would need to be applied for at the same time.”
Community councillor Jonathan Duncan said he did not want to agree to anything that did not involve underground power lines.
“All these overhead power lines, what an absolute disaster,” he said.
He added that with underground cables, “you never see the mess of wires”.
And Duncan said he felt repeated planning applications from major developers meant there was less scrutiny, as people would often see the new application and think “I’ve already seen this”.
Lerwick Community Council chairman Anderson suggested they object on the grounds of a lack of information.
He said there would be infrastructure connecting to the new substation, but that it was not visible on the plans presented to them.
Planning permission is in place for the Mossy Hill wind farm to have 12 turbines, but Statkraft has carried out a review since acquiring the development in 2023.
It is now proposing eight turbines which would be greater in height, at 155m.
An application for the redesign is expected to be submitted early this year.
The substation infrastructure would be located on land in between the Staney Hill quarry and the junction for the A970 road and Ladies Drive.
John Thouless, Staktraft’s principal wind project manager on Mossy Hill, told a Lerwick Community Council meeting in December that a second round of public exhibitions about the wind farm were planned for 22-23 January 2025.
Members were shown a list of key dates for the Statkraft project, with the company estimating it could have a planning decision on both its substation and wind farm plans by summer 2025.
Construction on the substation, which is being proposed for land near to the junction from the A970 to Ladies Drive at the north exit of Lerwick, could start next summer.
Wind farm construction would likely only begin in summer 2026, with turbines arriving the following year.
The wind farm is expected to be fully up and running by autumn 2028.
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