News / Community wind farm gets the go-ahead
A WIND FARM project in Yell which could bring as much as £1.3 million per annum directly into the local community has finally been given the go-ahead after years of planning.
North Yell Development Council (NYDC) was given the green light for the five-turbine project near Cullivoe on Friday.
However, the total cost of the 4.5 megawatt project has gone up from an estimated £6 million to £8 million following Britain’s decision to leave the EU in the summer.
The Enercon turbines will be bought from Germany and are priced in Euros, but the exchange rate suffered after the vote in June and subsequently made a “big difference” to the price of the turbines.
The wind farm at Garth, between Basta Voe and Gloup, will bring income direct to the small community by selling electricity to the local grid as part of the NINES (Northern Isles New Energy Solutions) project.
Members of the NYDC undertook a ceremonial turf cutting at the site earlier this month ahead of the project getting the final go-ahead.
The project was granted a grid connection in 2013, with activation approved for May 2015.
NYDC’s Andrew Nisbet said delays on the project have been due to issues with finalising the due diligence process for securing loans.
The construction of wind farm will have to be completed by March next year, to be able to claim subsidies under feed-in tariffs now discontinued by the UK government.
“It belongs to the development group, so the benefits will be for the community,” Nisbet said.
When asked how the income will be distributed in Yell, he said: “We have produced a development plan for the community, and any developments would have to fit in with it.
“The plan, however, is flexible. In the early years, most of the money will go towards paying off the loans.”
The green light has been a long time coming for Nisbet, who has been involved in the project’s planning for over a decade.
Planning permission was first applied for in 2009, with “prolonged studies” of bird and wind data, noise pollution, visual impact and peat studies following.
“We started working on the project in 2003,” Nisbet said. “I’ve been involved all that time.”
“We’ve been on a rollercoaster for the last three or four months, wondering whether we’d be able to start or not.”
North Isles councillor Steven Coutts hailed the development as “great news” for the community in North Yell.
“I know a very significant amount of time and effort has gone in to getting to this stage, and I would pay credit to and congratulate all those involved,” he said.
“The project will make a very significant contribution to the reducing our reliance on fossil fuel based energy.
“What is particularly pleasing is this is also a genuine community backed project and will have positive impact for the whole community long into the future.”
The news comes after Shetland Islands Council backed plans for a 17-turbine wind farm in the south east of Yell earlier this week.
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