Energy / Suggestion that barges could be needed to help meet future projects’ accommodation needs
THE SCALE of construction which would be involved in future energy projects in Shetland could potentially necessitate temporary workers’ accommodation like barges and camps, a meeting has heard.
Shetland Islands Council (SIC) development director Neil Grant said the projects lined up are on a “really, really big scale”.
Energy giant SSEN previously pledged to leave “legacy housing” from construction projects, with a commitment to build more than 1,000 homes in the north of Scotland.
But one councillor, Shetland North’s Andrew Hall, said at Wednesday’s development committee meeting that he had “no faith” in the company doing so.
The scale of future energy projects was laid bare at a public engagement event in Lerwick last week.
A key driver is a planned second HVDC subsea cable, which would facilitate projects like more offshore and onshore wind.
This would come with large onshore infrastructure, including a northern substation hub in the Sullom Voe area, while another Kergord substation has been proposed in addition to pylon-esque overhead lines.
There also stands to be a new substation in Yell and a subsea cable between the island and the Shetland mainland too.
Grant told Wednesday’s meeting that SSEN Transmission is now speaking about numbers in terms of workforce, but those discussions are still at an early stage.
He reiterated there is a need to find out what the other developers’ requirements are too.
Grant told councillors that companies are working on a development framework that “pulls all of those projects together” and tries to build a picture around infrastructure and accommodation.
Meanwhile Grant said the estimated start time for the main construction is around three years away. “That’s not a lot of time to get things on the ground for workforce,” he warned.
Referring to a possible need for camps and barges, the development director continued: “It’s a project that’s on a really, really big scale.
“This is quite a significant consideration for Shetland both in terms of legacy housing and indeed where the camps are built, so that the serviced sites can be used for housing.
“That again needs to be in the right place. And indeed how it impacts on the housing market in Shetland and the council and Hjaltland Housing’s ability to build social housing.”
Speaking outside the meeting, SIC chief executive Maggie Sandison said the council has been in engagement with SSEN and other developers over the “negative impacts” large developments can bring.
“We’re working to make sure that developers are aware of the challenges of working in Shetland, and actually plan to mitigate the consequences of such developments,” she said.
There has been a focus on long-term solutions, but Sandison said the “key thing for me is that if there’s to be a legacy solution we need to move ahead on it quickly”.
“Clearly to be able to address a housing solution that’s long term, you’re going to have to start building sooner rather than later and making sure that those houses are on a standard that they then contribute positively to the housing market here in Shetland,” she said.
Sandison added that the council does not see temporary accommodation solutions being a “good use of money”, adding that there have also been situations in the past where developers have built accommodation that is not in the right place, or of the right sort – with the chief executive referring the legacy from oil industry.
Accommodation barges were last used in Shetland during the construction of the gas plant in the 2010s.
Camps are also no strangers to Shetland, with the 426-bedroom Sella Ness accommodation block also being built for the gas plant construction.
This was given temporary planning permission and with ongoing demand it has had this consent periodically extended since opening in 2011 through to the mid-2030s.
Workers camps were also built for example during the construction of Sullom Voe Terminal in the 1970s.
Speaking at Wednesday’s meeting, Hall said the construction of the gas plant – located in his ward – put a significant squeeze on the local rental market, with prices “outwith the pockets” of local people.
“I’m concerned that we’re going to have a situation where it’s going to be even more of a crisis with regard to housing,” he added.
Speaking in July, a spokesperson for SSEN Transmission said the company continues to work with the council and local housing stakeholders to identify workforce accommodation solutions – “including how we can deliver a positive legacy through our pledge to support the delivery of more than 1,000 new homes for local communities in the north of Scotland, as part of our accommodation requirements”.
In May the company also said it understood the “importance of early and substantive engagement on accommodation requirements”.
Norwegian energy giant Statkraft has a number of future projects in the works, including three onshore wind farms and a hydrogen production facility.
It previously said that workforce accommodation demand is “something that we will assess the need for on a project-by-project basis, as we move closer to construction, and will work with the local authority and other organisations to help meet local needs”.
Statkraft has consent for two onshore wind farms in Yell, with the company saying earlier this year it expected construction to begin in 2029/30.
SSEN is also proposing a substation in southern Yell to facilitate the two wind farms, as well as a subsea cable between the island and the Shetland mainland.
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