Bell’s Brae pupil triumphs in wind farm naming contest – and shares winnings with classmates

A PUPIL from Bell’s Brae Primary School in Lerwick has won the competition to name an offshore wind farm Irish energy company ESB plans to build to the east of Shetland.

The proposed 500MW floating offshore wind farm, formerly known as Sealtainn (the Irish name for Shetland), will from now on be called Stoura Wind Farm.

The unnamed pupil decided to share the £1,250 prize fund with their classmates and a local charity. ESB has matched this with a donation of its own.

The name Stoura is, in the words of the competition winner, “an old Shetland word which has two meanings. Firstly, it can mean windy. It can also mean wide open space”.

The name is used for several local landmarks including Stoura Stack, a sea stack in the Skerries, the closest part of Shetland to the proposed wind farm.

Entries were judged by four local people with confirmation from an expert that the winning name is Shetland dialect.

Announcing the winner, project director for Stoura Wind Farm Cian Desmond, said: “We were blown away by the quality of entries from the young Shetlanders. This made the task of selecting an overall winner very difficult.

“In the end, we are delighted with the name Stoura which has strong links to the local landscape, Shetland dialect and the windy, exposed nature of the site.”