A community council convention on energy developments will be held next month amid escalating concerns about the “disjointed” way in which projects are being progressed.
The SIC’s environment and transport chairwoman Moraig Lyall said the event on Saturday, 22nd August, would give communities a chance to voice their concerns to national governments.
It follows a motion raised by Tingwall Whiteness and Weisdale Community Council (TWWCC) chairman Andrew Archer, which called for a moratorium on new energy projects until a “coherent plan and strategy are in place”.
Members of the Association of Shetland Community Councils backed the motion at their latest meeting earlier this month, when it was decided to invite politicians to the convention.
These will include Orkney and Shetland MP Alistair Carmichael, Shetland MSP Hannah Mary Goodlad, all regional list MSPs, SIC councillors and representatives from all 18 of Shetland’s community councils.
Since the motion was approved, concerns about the way in which major projects have been allowed to progress without proper planning have intensified following a damning assessment of grid infrastructure proposals raised by energy industry insiders.
According to The Sunday Times, these concerns relate to the National Energy Systems Operator (Neso) and its upcoming “roadmap” for where investment in the UK’s energy infrastructure will be made through to 2050.
Experts warned that of the six “pathways” included in Neso’s strategic spatial energy plan (SSEP), only two will fully support Scotland’s offshore wind pipelines and improve their grid connections.
They said this could hinder investor confidence in the offshore wind sector – which has already seen major players pull out of projects, including around Shetland.
In March this year Ocean Winds announced it would terminate its ScotWind lead option for the 500MW Arven South project – one of three floating windfarm sites in the NE1 zone, east of Bressay.
The company cited “the lack of a viable grid connection for Arven South” and “no foreseeable alternative route to market” among its reasons.
Despite uncertainty around the projects, SSEN Transmission is progressing major infrastructure developments in Shetland, some of which are directly linked to the offshore windfarms.
These include the 100-acre Northern Substation Hub proposed for a site near Toft, which would take energy from Arven and Stoura, and the Shetland 2 interconnector, which would transfer the energy to consumers on the mainland.
Both of these projects would have other roles to play in the wider Shetland energy network and are not exclusively tied to the offshore windfarms.
However, the scale of the proposals and the impact they would have on the landscape as well as their disruptive effects during construction, have led to significant concerns.
Mrs Lyall previously supported calls for a moratorium on new energy developments until such time as a “properly thought through Scotland-wide strategy for energy” can be agreed.
She was speaking after February’s Holyrood event titled “Rural Scotland Community Council Convention Round Table on the Impact of Major Energy Infrastructure”.
Attendees demanded a clear national energy policy for Scotland, a pause on major energy infrastructure applications until such a policy is in place, and a planning inquiry commission to assess cumulative impacts on landscapes, the environment, local economies and communities.
Speaking to The Shetland Times this week, Mrs Lyall said these latest concerns about Neso’s SSEP served to underline the “disjointed and unplanned way in which energy generation, infrastructure and demand is being handled”.
She said they emphasised the “real need for a moratorium on further planning consents until such times as a properly thought through and co-ordinated plan is in place”.
Such a plan, she added, needed to match the expected demand for power with the electricity being produced and how it will be effectively implemented without massive impacts on local communities.
“Otherwise, we risk having orphan assets constructed but unable to connect to the system for many years, bottlenecks of electricity generated far from where it is required with no means of distribution,” Mrs Lyall added.
“In particular, the link between the Arven and Stoura projects and the need for the second interconnector along with the substations and associated cabling which SSE recently consulted on needs to be teased out to ensure the best outcomes for Shetland.
“Energy security is important but a haphazard means of achieving it will do needless damage to precious environments both on land and sea, cause huge disruption to people’s lives and serve principally to generate large scale profits for multinational corporations.
“The community council convention on energy developments on 22nd August will give local communities an opportunity to voice their concerns to national governments.”
Meanwhile the SNP responded to the Neso warnings by blaming Westminster for jeopardising nearly £100 billion of investment in ScotWind projects.
Neso said in a statement: “The SSEP is Great Britain’s first national blueprint for where future electricity and hydrogen infrastructure may be needed.
“Commissioned by the UK, Scottish and Welsh governments, it brings together economic, technical, environmental and societal evidence to identify secure, affordable and sustainable pathways for meeting future demand.
“By providing clearer long-term direction, the SSEP will help unlock investment, strengthen supply chains, and support jobs and skills.
“Neso will submit six future energy system options to government later this summer. The UK energy secretary will then select one pathway to take forward.”
The UK government added: “We continue to work with Neso on delivering the SSEP.
“Our clean energy superpower mission is the route to energy sovereignty, lower bills and thousands of good jobs in our communities.”
Crown Estate Scotland, which led the ScotWind auction acknowledged there were “global headwinds” facing the projects including rising costs, grid connection delays, supply chain bottlenecks and access to skills.
However, it maintained that ScotWind still offered an “exceptional opportunity” to support the transition to green power and provide the potential for thousands of new jobs.
More details on the convention will be published near to the event.
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