Civil engineering firm approved to build two turbines to support the business
A LOCAL company has been granted planning permission to install two wind turbines on land south of Brae.
EMN Plant Ltd is looking to build two 107-metre high turbines to the east of the Valleyfield Guest House on the Hill of Wethersta.
Its managing director Ellis Nicolson said earlier this year the aim behind the development, on family croft land, was to provide local energy to Shetland while also supporting the business.
He also said there was a desire to run a community benefit scheme in the Brae area, potentially offering local groups or charities a slice of funding which could amount to £20,000 to £25,000 a year.
The two turbines could generate up to four to five megawatts.
The plans were given the green light by Shetland Islands Council’s planning department last week.
Nicolson told Shetland News there was no timeline yet on when construction would start, or when the turbines would be up and running.
He said in March that the idea first came when EMN undertook civil works for the Garth wind farm in Yell around a decade ago.
He said a company like EMN, which has more than 40 employees, can have “peaks and troughs” – and during the quieter moments there can be large overheads.
“It’s really something to try and get a steady income for the business to help through the low periods,” he said.
“It’s about a local business trying to provide some local power, and help consolidate and sustain the business.”
Nicolson said the plans were of a smaller scale compared to other wind developments, and that it was “trying to keep the revenue in Shetland”.
Looking to the future, Nicolson said there could potentially be opportunities to use the power from the turbines for a particular purpose – “it might even be just to power batteries or charge electric cars and trucks”.
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He also said the company has been told that there should be zero curtailment from the two turbines, meaning they will always be able to send power to the local distribution grid. Nicolson added there would be “minimal peat disturbance” from the development.
A planning statement said there would be access tracks and a couple of substation buildings, which would have footprints of 16.7m x 6.2m and 4.2m x 8m.
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