Viking decommissioning bond: Community councillor says he has ‘given up asking’

The chairman of the Viking Community Liaison Group has said he has “given up asking” about a decommissioning bond for the windfarm.

The agreement was originally due to be in place between Viking and the SSE before construction on the windfarm started.

The decommissioning bond will see SSE Renewables pay a pre-determined sum to the council at the end of the windfarm’s 25-year lifespan.

But with the windfarm set to be operational next year, the bond is still not in place.

Tingwall, Whiteness and Weisdale community councillor Neil Leask said they would be “lucky if it’s been agreed by the time it’s [the Viking windfarm] finished”.

And Andrew Archer – chairman of the Viking Community Liaison Group – said he had simply “given up asking about it”.

Development director Neil Grant assured the group on Tuesday night that SSE, the SIC and a major bank were close to an agreement.

“We’re not far away,” he said.

Mr Leask pointed out that something similar had been said in May 2021, when the bond was said to have been close to being finalised.

The meeting also heard that the convoys delivering turbine parts from Lerwick to the Viking site are set to finish next week.

SSE expects the final delivery to take place on Saturday, 29th July – barring any issues with weather.