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Stornoway windfarm at risk from high subsea cable charges 18/11/10
A £200 million proposed wind farm for Stornoway, incorporating a potential community scheme, will be scrapped unless the government considers installing a crucial subsea cable to export the electricity, it has emerged.
Developer Lewis Windpower (LWP) warns that the giant energy project is not financially viable if the firm is forced to underwrite the cost of the interconnecter to link it into the mainland national grid.
It seeks much cheaper charges or for regulator Ofgem to pay for the cable upgrade.
Other large wind farm operators on Lewis are also refusing to fork out the high levy to fund the nearly £400 million price tag of the cable which would run from Lewis to near Ullapool and carry renewable electricity manufactured in the isles through the grid.
Ironically, other upgrades in the same system are being paid for from the government purse.
Darren Cuming of French-
He added: “Paying for the cable is a key issue.
“It will cost £393 million and the regulator (Ofgem) wants developers such as LWP and Beinn Mhor at Eishken to fund the cable.
“We hope and are lobbying for some solution where the UK and Scottish Government
would unlock the energy potential of these islands by providing a sub-
Mr Cuming highlighted the Stornoway wind farm is a “marginal project at the level proposed at the moment.
He warned if generators were charged to use the cable at the “same price at the moment then developers are unlikely to develop any large scale wind farms on the islands.”
The warning the development may be jeopardised follows the shock last minute announcement that Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) has abandoned present plans to construct the cable.
The failure to resolve the export levy controversy is the reason SSE -
SSE said it would try again next year but that means the cable would not be ready until 2015 at the earliest.
Angus Campbell, leader of Western Isles Council said: “We call on the UK Government to step in and invest strategically in the Western Isles interconnector, obviating underwriting and securing the significant economic benefits that renewable energy will bring to these islands.”
He maintained the islands were being “discriminated against” as other national grid upgrades were paid by the government. He said the European Union should investigate the issue.
LWP wants to build 43 of the world’s giant wind turbines on crofters’ grazings outside Stornoway. It would skirt around the villages of Marybank and Newvalley and along part of the main Lochs road. A community benefit fund would be established.
Community landowner Stornoway Trust has been fiercely slammed for not progressing its own wind scheme where all the profits would be reinvested into the local community.
The LWP scheme also risks crofting communities own proposed turbines say critics.
The Stornoway Trust has an option to buy eight turbines from LWP.
Ironically, the latest renewable scheme would be erected on land the developers previously rejected around 2004. They have obtained the wind energy rights over the crofting moorland and forestry belt.
The current proposal was revealed in 2008 in the aftermath of the Scottish Government’s refusal to controversially build a £700 million chain of 181 huge turbines up the length of Lewis.
Darren Cuming is EDF’s representative in the Stornoway windfarm