The crofting townships involved in fighting for the right to develop community wind farms on their common grazings have written to MP Angus Brendan MacNeil, asking for his support.
The grazings clerks representing the townships of Melbost and Branahuie, Sandwick
North Street, Sandwick East Street and Aignish want to build 21 community-
They say they are being opposed by the landowner, the Stornoway Trust, which has
leased the grazings to the multinational EDF Energy and Amec-
In August the MP said he could not intervene until the government had confirmed the interconnector was going ahead.
Now there is more confidence over the sub-
SSE still has to submit a business case for the cable while energy regulator Ofgem will have to decide if it goes ahead.
In a letter to the MP said: “Our objective is to deliver the maximum benefit to the local economy and the wider islands community from the proposed wind farms.
“It is clear that this cannot be delivered by the proposed EDF/LWP wind farm which will provide only £500,000 a year from the turbines on our grazings, as compared to the £5 million a year which will come from community ownership of the turbines.”
Crofters seek MP’s support in windfarm row
19 Oct 2017
