Sir,
I read with some dismay your recent article on the opening of the Lewis Wind Power (LWP) office in Stornoway and the suggested benefits that this may bring to the community.
It only takes very basic mathematic ability to calculate that this is a very, very bad deal for the community. Example being that the three turbine (9MW scheme) operated by the Point and Sandwick Trust (PST) delivers a reported £500,000 per annum in community benefits. The much larger proposed Stornoway, 36 turbines (180MW scheme), is touted to deliver only £900,000 per annum in community benefits. The comparison is an obvious stark difference in what actually could be realised. Similarly the six turbine (13.8MW) Pentland Road scheme, which is located on Stornoway Trust land delivers ??? in community benefits.
Given that Stornoway Trust appears not to issue out an annual summary report, hold an annual AGM or have had a website in existence for two years, how do we as residents of the community know what is being negotiated, or has been negotiated away by the appointed trustees on our behalf ?
The lack of transparency on this huge and critical issue is breathtaking in the extreme. Specifically how the trust have signed over the development rights on crofting grazing rights within common grazing land to a conglomerate, without any meaningfull discussion between the grazing committees, or indeed the local populace within the Stornoway Trust area.
It is reported that the Stornoway Trust have an option to take up 20% of the completed development but there is absolutely no guarantee that this finance can be put in place, or agreed upon, to realise this additional revenue or benefit for the community. The use of the land for development will ultimately be settled through the Scottish Land Court for final permission.
If you contrast the developments planned for the Isle of Lewis with the Shetlands Islands’ Viking project, then the contrast is huge. Similar sized developments are planned on both island groups, yet the Shetland community has agreed a 50/50 split with the developer SSE. This will reportedly earn the Shetland community, more than they have previously realised from all the oil related activity that has brought such huge economic benefit to that island group in the past forty years.
CNES and the Stornoway Trust should be negotiating for a similar deal to that negotiated by the Shetland community, rather than the crumbs from the table that have been offered up to date and to deliver some true and realistic community benefit.
There are suggestions that the construction phase of the project will bring at peak
phase up to 600 jobs over the 2-
Tourism has been one of the main growth Industries in these Islands in recent years, with expectations that this will continue on an upward trend. However, will effectively an island group that is a floating wind turbine be such an appealing destination for tourists in future years to come?
Brexit is quoted as being the singularly biggest event for the UK since the second World War. Similarly, these planned wind turbine developments are the biggest (possibly) event that these islands will have seen, or have foisted upon them.
These islands need to receive the proper entitled economic benefit to create real economic growth for what is possibly the last serious chance to reverse the endemic population decline both current and predicted. This will help to retain our young people and families, while also attracting a new influx of economically active people to the islands. These developments and issues are HUGE and all our elected representatives be they from CNES, the Stornoway Trust and our parliamentary representatives, along with the community need to pull together to secure the best deal and future for the islands.
I would urge anyone who can see the negatives in these proposals, to contact your elected councillor and parliamentary representatives and make your concerns known. Our elected representatives need to show vision, leadership, accountability and transparency, so that proper and long term community benefit can be realised from these projects.
John Morrison
8 Lister Place,
Stornoway.
Letter: Community wind farms are “best deal ”
2 February 2018