Viking Wind Farm

Viking Wind Farm is a large on-shore wind farm under construction in the Shetland Islands which is being developed by Viking Energy,[n 1] a partnership between Shetland Islands Council and SSE plc. When complete, it will have a generation capacity of 443 MW.

Viking Wind Farm
CountryScotland, United Kingdom
LocationShetland Islands
Coordinates60.30661°N 1.22077°W / 60.30661; -1.22077
Construction cost£566 million (estimated, 103 turbines)
Owner(s)
Operator(s)
Wind farm
Type
Rotor diameter
  • 117 m (384 ft)
Power generation
Units under const.103 × 4.3 MW
Nameplate capacity
  • 443 MW
Annual net output
  • 1,796.35 GWh (estimate)
External links
Websitewww.vikingenergy.co.uk

Construction started in September 2020 and should be complete by 2024.[2]

History

Initial plan

In 2005 SSE and Shetland Islands Council (via development company Viking Energy.[n 1]) signed a memorandum of understanding to combine independent proposals for 300 MW wind farms on mainland Shetland and jointly develop a large scale (600 MW) wind farm. The companies formalised the agreement in January 2007.[3]

In 2009 the developers[n 2] submitted a planning application for 150 turbines (estimated 600 MW capacity) on the main island of Shetland.[4]

In 2010 the plan was reduced in scope, with the number of turbines reduced to 127;[5] the turbines were to be 3.6 MW machines with hub height of 90 metres (300 ft) and blade tip height of 145 m (476 ft). The scope area of the wind farm was 129 km2 (50 sq mi), of which only 104 ha (1.04 km2) would be permanently built upon, additionally the plan required construction of approximately 104 km (65 mi) of access roads, and the quarrying of 1,470,000 m3 (0.00147 km3) of rock, and the disturbance of between 650 and 900,000 cubic metres of peat.[6] The development was dependent on the Shetland HVDC Connection being built connecting Shetland to the UK mainland's national grid.[5] The cost of the connector was estimated at £300 million in late 2011; Viking Energy would be liable for 10% or less of the cost,[7] other energy producing projects in Shetland, such as Aegir wave farm, were also dependent on the grid connector being built.[8][9]

The scheme proved contentious with both significant opposition and support, receiving 2,772 formal objections and 1,115 in support, as well as objections from RSPB Scotland; in part due to concerns on its impact on the rare Whimbrel.[10][11]

The converter station at Kergord for the HVDC link to the Scottish mainland reached an initial stage of planning consent in early 2011, after several previous attempts starting 2009.[12] In April 2012, the Scottish Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism, Fergus Ewing, granted planning permission for a 103 wind turbine development, withholding consent on 24 turbines in Delting Parish due to potential interference with equipment at Scatsta Airport, and limiting maximum height to 145 m (476 ft).[6] The reduced development had an estimated capacity of up to 370 MW. The income from the development to shareholder Shetland Islands Trust was estimated at £20 million per year and the capital cost of the development was estimated at £556 million.[10]

In September 2013, a ruling on an objection from Sustainable Shetland to the development held that the consent given under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 was incompetent because Viking Energy did not hold a licence under the 1989 Act, and that the Scottish Ministers had failed to have proper regard to their obligations under the Birds Directive [2009/147/EC] to the protected Whimbrel species.[13][14]

In October 2013, the Scottish Government signalled its intention to appeal the decision.[15] In July 2014, appeal judges at Edinburgh's Court of Session announced that there was insufficient reason to stop the wind farm and gave the project the go-ahead.[16] Sustainable Shetland appealed the decision at the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom but lost the appeal in February 2015.[17] They were also refused leave to appeal to the European Court of Justice.[17] Viking applied to get electricity price subsidies under the UK government's low carbon "Contracts for Difference" programme.[18] Due to the slow progress of Viking's application, two of their four staff were made redundant in 2017.[19]

Recent history

In 2019, Viking Energy was unsuccessful in winning a CfD contract in the government auction held in September 2019, making the future of the windfarm uncertain. [20]

The wind farm depends on the construction of the Shetland HVDC Connection. In April 2020, Ofgem approved revised proposals for that project, subject to 'evidence that the Shetland Viking Wind Farm project will go ahead'.[21]

On 17 June 2020, the project sponsor, SSE Renewables, made a final investment decision to proceed with the Viking Wind Farm investment, conditional on certain industry code modifications, and "the outcome of the consultation on Ofgem's minded-to position to approve the transmission link, expected in July 2020".[22]

According to Shetland News, this means that both the wind farm and the HVDC Connection "are likely to go ahead".[23]

Construction works started in September 2020 and the farm is due to be operational by 2024.[2]

Design

If constructed, turbines would be erected in Kergord, North Nesting, and South Nesting.[10][24][25] Original proposals included 24 turbines in the Delting area (refused 2012 consent.[10]) and 23 turbines in the Collafirth area (removed from application.[25])

Estimated construction time for the 127 turbine farm was five years.[26] The wind farm was expected to have a high utilisation rate, smaller wind turbines on the island having attained high capacity factors of over 50%.[4][27]

Objections

Initially proposed as a 150 turbine 600 MW project in 2009, the scheme had significant opposition, on grounds including effects on wildlife, and the general environment; part of the wind farm was also removed because of a potential interference with equipment at Scatsta Airport.

Notes
  1. Shetland Council formed "Viking Energy Ltd" (90% owned by Shetland Charitable Trust) as an energy development company, SSE formed SSE Viking as a subsidiary. The 50:50 joint venture of the two companies is termed "Viking Energy Partnership".[1]
  2. A joint venture between SSE and the Shetland Islands Trust. The trust was an organisation initially created to distribute income from oil installations on the island.[4]

References
  1. Who Are We?, Viking Energy, retrieved 8 April 2012, Viking Energy is a 50:50 partnership between Viking Energy Ltd and SSE Viking Ltd. SSE Viking Ltd is a subsidiary of Scottish and Southern Energy plc. Viking Energy Ltd [...] is 90% owned by the Shetland Charitable Trust ... The remaining 10% is held by the people who developed Burradale Wind Farm
  2. "Work begins on Viking Energy windfarm on Shetland". 13 September 2020.
  3. Sources:
  4. Severin Carrell (20 May 2009), "Shetland stirred by giant Viking wind farm plan", The Guardian
  5. "Viking Energy Shetland wind farm plan scaled back", BBC News, 29 September 2010
  6. Consultations on section 36 application etc on the Viking Wind Farm (PDF), Infrastructure Services Department, Shetland Islands Council, 14 December 2010
  7. Hans Marter (16 November 2011), "Viking interconnector by April 2016", Shetland News
  8. "Vattenfall to test Pelamis sea snake in Orkney", BusinessGreen, 15 March 2012
  9. "UK: Aegir Wave Farm to Benefit from Viking Wind Farm", Subsea World News, 5 April 2012
  10. Sources:
  11. Severin Carrell (28 July 2009), "Latest protest leaves climate strategy twisting in the wind", The Guardian
  12. John Robertson (2 February 2011), "Controversial windfarm converter station approved without vote by council", The Shetland Times
  13. "Opinion of Lady Clark of Calton in Petition of Sustainable Shetland", www.scotcourts.gov.uk, Court of Session - High Court of Justiciary, 24 September 2013, archived from the original on 16 October 2013
  14. "Judge rules against Viking wind farm", www.shetnews.co.uk, 24 September 2013
  15. "Scottish government ministers challenge Shetland wind farm ruling", BBC News, 3 October 2013
  16. "Viking Energy wind farm plan for Shetland backed by appeal judges", BBC News, 9 July 2014
  17. "Shetland's Viking windfarm cleared by supreme court", The Guardian, 9 February 2015
  18. UK Civil Service (11 September 2017). "Contracts for Difference". Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, United Kingdom Government. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  19. Marter, Hans J. (21 July 2017). "Viking redundancies". Shetland News. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  20. "'Disappointed' but still 'committed' – Viking Energy reacts to CfD decision". Shetland Times. 20 September 2019. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  21. "Ofgem approves 600MW Shetland transmission link". Ofgem. 23 April 2020. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  22. "Viking approval secures £580m green recovery investment". Viking Energy. 17 June 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  23. Chris Cope (17 June 2020). "Viking Energy wind farm looks set to go ahead as SSE agrees to proceed with £580m project". Shetland News. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  24. BMT Cordah Ltd, "Non-technical summary", Why the proposed wind farm design was changed, pp.1-2; Fig. NTS A1 (end)
  25. BMT Cordah Ltd, "Non-technical summary", "Turbines", p.3
  26. BMT Cordah Ltd, "Non-technical summary", Construction programme, p.6
  27. Information BankMyth Buster, Viking Energy, 4. Wind farms have a very low productivity level, retrieved 8 April 2012

Sources
  • BMT Cordah Ltd, "Non-technical summary" (PDF), VIKING WIND FARM ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENT ADDENDUM, Viking Energy Partnership, archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016, retrieved 8 April 2012
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