Energy / Final planning approval for wind farm substation development
SHETLAND Islands Council (SIC) has given planning approval for a wind farm substation development on the outskirts of Lerwick.
The SIC’s planning committee previously recommended the development be approved, with elected members on the full council backing the decision on Tuesday.
Norwegian energy giant Statkraft is behind the proposal, which also includes transformer equipment and electrical switchgear for SSEN Transmission.
It would allow the proposed Mossy Hill wind farm to connect to the new underground cable line between Kergord and Gremista.
There would be two substations – one for Statkraft and one for SSEN.
The SSEN Transmission substation compound would be around 9,500 square metres, with Statkraft’s slightly smaller at roughly 6,220 square metres.
Despite planning officers recommending approval, a string of objections had been lodged – with visual impact, concern for peatland and the risk of contamination to Lerwick’s drinking water among the primary concerns.
One pointed to the Sandy Loch reservoir, which is Lerwick’s main water source, and claimed it could be polluted by turbines less than 2km away.
Planning officer Jack Wiseman previously said the building’s visual impact on the landscape would be “minor to moderate”.
While he admitted peatland would be impacted by the development, he said the impacts would be “suitably mitigated” by Statkraft’s plans for the project.
Speaking at the planning committee in April, objector Adrian Brockless said Shetland “deserves better” than the substation development.
The Statkraft project “destroys carbon rich peatland” and would have a “harmful” visual impact on the landscape, he claimed.
And while it had been found that there was a “very low” risk of Lerwick’s drinking water being affected, he said: “Very low is not no risk”.
The topic of water supply was brought up at Tuesday’s full SIC meeting, with North Isles member Robert Thomson asking about what mitigations may be in place regarding the Sandy Loch reservoir.
Planning team leader John Holden highlighted that Scottish Water had no objection to the substation plans.
As previously mentioned, the organisation did say there was “very low risk to public supply” but added that “care should be taken”.
Scottish Water did also ask in response to the planning application if it could be advised if PFAS (per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances) will be used on any of the infrastructure.
PFAS are often called “forever” chemicals due to the time they take to break down.
Last year it was reported that PFAS had been found in water samples in Shetland, although Scottish Water said there was no cause for alarm.
Reassurance offered over levels of chemicals found in local water samples
At Tuesday’s meeting environment and transport committee chair Moraig Lyall also questioned why an environmental impact assessment (EIA) was not required for the development.
She was told by Holden that the view from the planning department was that an EIA was not required.
Meanwhile Statkraft project manager John Thouless previously told the SIC’s planning committee that his company was exploring measures such as planting trees around the site to mitigate the visual impact.
He said planning conditions would be in place to ensure watercourses were not affected by the development
The state owned Norwegian company would connect the substation to its proposed Mossy Hill wind farm – which could see eight 155m turbines built just outside Lerwick.
The substation infrastructure would be located on land in between the Staney Hill quarry and the junction for the A970 road and Ladies Drive.
The wind farm is expected to be up and running by autumn 2028.
Statkraft already has planning consent for 12 turbines on the Mossy Hill development but last year the company said it had revised it down to eight turbines, which are larger in height.
A planning application for the revised eight-turbine development has yet to be submitted.
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