What about Shetland?

Last week Scottish and Southern Energy chief executive Ian Marchant came to Shetland to launch an innovative scheme (using Shetland as a testing ground) to make more practical use of renewable energy sources, which has tremendous potential if successful.

He also made a statement about the unconnected Viking Energy windfarm that: “It will go ahead. The community ownership is a key plus from my point of view, but the project will go ahead, it does not stand or fall.”

This week, SSE has abandoned plans for a wind farm 2km offshore at Kintyre. The reasons that the company has given for this, stated in a BBC report www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-12610901, are “the location was too close to local communities and Campbeltown airport and it would disrupt recreational sailing”.

What about Shetland? The Kintyre windfarm was to be 2km offshore. The majority of the proposed turbines in the Viking Energy windfarm are less that 2km from habitation. Scatsta Airport is perilously close to a large section of this proposed windfarm. Ian Marchant must have known about this before he came to Shetland. His statement displays an arrogance that treats the people of Shetland with contempt.

One consolation. It probably won’t disrupt our “recreational sailing” while our onshore environment and ecology (and possibly finances) are destroyed.

Ian Thomson
3 Gladstone Terrace,
Lerwick.