Approval given for second turbine and battery storage system at Luggie’s Knowe

A SINGLE 150m tall wind turbine looks set to be built at the north of Lerwick after a planning application was approved by Shetland Islands Council.

A battery energy storage system, with a capacity of around 15MW, will also be built as part of Shetland Aerogenerators plans for Luggie’s Knowe.

The company already has one smaller turbine there – with a tip height of 121m and generating capacity of 3MW.

The new project will have a total generating capacity of 19.9MW, which Shetland Aerogenerators said could be enough to provide energy for 2,600 homes in the isles annually.

Shetland Aerogenerators said it was also exploring routing community benefit payments from the development into schemes such as Hjaltland Housing Association’s existing fuel vouchers scheme, which will help some people experiencing fuel poverty to pay their energy bills.

Construction work could start in 2026, with the build time estimated to be between nine and 12 months.

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Development manager Brendan Hall said they were “delighted” to receive planning consent.

“Our development team have put in a great deal of work on this project, carrying out a full environmental impact assessment through 2023 to ensure this development is acceptable and it’s great to see these efforts pay off.

“We are excited to proceed to this phase and we expect to continue our established approach using the Shetland supply chain and local contractors as much as possible.”

Aerogenerators chief executive David Thomson called it a “significant investment” by his company into Shetland’s energy transition.

“My next priority is to ensure that this development can make a tangible difference to fuel poverty in Shetland, through opportunities such as energy vouchers for identified groups,” he said.

“We’ve been part of recent discussions to identify how Shetland ensures a fair share from energy developments and this project is a chance to demonstrate some of those ideas.”

An original planning consent was granted in 2012 for the construction and operation of three wind turbines, with just one of those constructed.

It has been operational since 2016.