Point Power playing “pawn in bigger game” 22/7/10
Sir,
Recent statements by Mr Donald John MacSween, chairman of Point and Sandwick Power
Ltd, may lead some of your readers to believe that Stornoway Trust has obstructed
the development of locally-
Under the revised agreement with Lewis Wind Power, the Trust made provision which allows us to enter into lease negotiations with both Point and Sandwick Power Ltd and also Tolsta Community Development Ltd without any recourse to LWP. Potential development land stretching from Tong to Tolsta has been excluded completely from the LWP agreement.
It is our firm belief that the prospects for bringing relatively small-
Stornoway Trust has been involved with the wind energy industry since 1993 with the
sole objective of turning a world-
This led us to enter into a lease agreement with Lewis Wind Power, long before local community companies existed. The terms of that agreement secured community benefits and crofter entitlements well above the recognised rates at that time.
Following rejection of the first LWP project, the Halcrow Report identified Trust land to the west and south of Stornoway as suitable for development.
The lease agreement with LWP continued until 2018 and if we had sought to renege on it, the result could have been to sterilise Stornoway Trust land for windfarm developments; not least for community projects, including Point and Sandwick Power Ltd’s.
That was the clear legal advice to the Trust and on that basis we entered into discussion with LWP about a revised lease.
Over the past year, the Trust has had many meetings with Mr Calum Macdonald, formerly chairman and now chief executive of Point and Sandwick Power Ltd.
Mr Macdonald has sought to persuade us that we should withdraw from our obligations to LWP and form a new agreement with a company of his nomination. These proposals go far beyond the interests of Point and Sandwick Power Ltd.
The Trust has not been so persuaded. I understand that Mr Macdonald has not shared the details of these ambitions more widely and, as a result, the Trust is bound to respect commercial confidentiality.
We can only therefore address ourselves to the specific issue concerning Point and Sandwick Power Ltd in order to state categorically that far from obstructing its project, we have gone to great lengths to be in a position to facilitate it.
We believe that the enhanced terms on which we have reached agreement with Lewis Wind Power represent the best and most credible deal for the Stornoway Trust and the wider community, including local businesses which will be reliant on the financial stability of any partner in an industry where development costs amount to well over £1 million per mW.
The Trust believes that its agreement with LWP fully safeguards the community’s long-
I would also point out that this arrangement will seek to cover all the crofting communities in Point whereas the Point and Sandwick Power Ltd scheme is entirely within the Sandwick apportionment. Stornoway Trust is committed to seeking the widest possible benefits, on the best possible terms.
We hope to work constructively with Mr MacSween and his colleagues in Point and Sandwick Power Ltd, so that they will be in a position to deliver all that they have promised.
Reciprocally, it would be appreciated if Point and Sandwick Power Ltd concentrated on delivery of their own project rather than letting it become a pawn in bigger games.
Mr Robert J M Frater
Chairman of the Renewables Sub-
The Stornoway Trust
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