Viking funding meeting rescheduled
A CRUNCH meeting of Shetland Charitable Trust to decide the future funding of the controversial Viking Energy wind farm will take place on Monday 16 April.
Trustees will be asked to agree investing a further £6.3 million into the 103 turbine project, in which it holds a 45 per cent stake.
Last week Scottish energy minister Fergus Ewing’s approved a reduced wind farm on the hills between Nesting, Aith, Voe and Vidlin, increasing the value of the trust’s current £3.42 million investment to almost £60 million.
The extra spend would cover the cost of taking the project to the construction stage, which could take up to two years. By then valuation consultants Quayle Munro estimate the value of the investment should have rocketed to more than £140 million.
The issue was taken off the agenda of last month’s meeting when it was realised there would not be enough trustees present to make a legitimate decision on funding.
The number of trustees who declare a conflict of interest every time the Viking Energy project comes up for discussion makes it harder to form a quorum on this issue.
The trust said that bearing in mind the level of public interest in the subject, it had not wanted people to make an unnecessary journey to attend the debate at Lerwick Town Hall.
A new report for Monday’s meeting will be published on the trust’s website tomorrow, taking into account the minister’s verdict and removing the need to explore funding alternatives should there be a delay such as a public inquiry.
Trust chairman Bill Manson, who will be unable to participate in any debate himself as chairman of Viking Energy Ltd, said he was hopeful of having a quorum present on Monday.
Addressing concerns that the trust may be trying to push through a decision on funding prior to the local authority elections, which will substantially change the trust’s membership, he said Monday’s decision could always be overturned at a future date.
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“Quite clearly a decision to withdraw from the project in some fashion can be taken at any time whether or not a budget has been agreed,” he said.
“But this project needs some decisions to be taken now, for instance we need to continue our work on birds so we have a good basis of knowledge to work on and we need to do this during the breeding and summer season and not wait until autumn.”
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