Viking confident

SHETLAND wind farm developer Viking Energy Partnership has vowed to continue developing its 103-turbine project.

This week, the Court of Session quashed the planning consent granted by Scottish Ministers in April last year, following a judicial review brought by anti-Viking group Sustainable Shetland.

Lady Clark of Calton said the planning consent for the wind farm was “incompetent” because the company did not have a licence to generate energy.

She also said that Scottish Ministers had failed to take proper regard of the European Wild Birds Directive in relation to the breeding population of whimbrels on the islands.

The Scottish government almost instantly announced that it would appeal the decision on both grounds.

There is disagreement on both sides of the argument whether the appeal will restore planning consent for the duration of the appeal process or not.

A final written decision by Lady Clark, her interlocutor, is expected to be published later on Friday.

In a first statement following this week’s news, Viking Energy said on Friday morning that it remained fully committed to the 370-megawatt project.

A spokesman for the company said: “The issues clearly have some way to go through due legal process and we will make further comment in due course.

“We will continue taking the appropriate steps on this project to maintain our positive momentum and we remain committed to what we believe is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to bring the many economic and environmental benefits of the renewable energy industry to Shetland.”