Ritika Janiya
Now, put that in the most windswept part of the UK-Shetland. Imagine huge wind turbines whirring in the powerful wind and pumping out enough electricity to power almost half a million homes. That has been what has happened on the Shetland Isles lately with the new Viking Wind Farm, the largest onshore wind farm in the UK. For the very first time, there is flowing power from Shetland toward the mainland, making the leap long toward renewable energy.
The Viking Wind Farm has 103 turbines, each 155 meters high including the length of their blades. It is one of the most productive wind farms anywhere and can generate as much as 443 megawatts of electricity in the UK, that is, sufficient power to fuel 500,000 homes. The man in charge at SSE, the company behind Viking, is Alistair Phillips-Davies, who warns we need many more projects like this. “We have to do many more of this kind of project, also many more of these wind projects offshore, so that we can decarbonise the energy system,” he said.
A Big Investment, But Not Without Issues
SSE has invested more than £1 billion in this project and constructed the 160-mile undersea cable to carry the power from Shetland to the Scottish mainland. Further, it intends to invest another £20 billion into renewables by the end of the decade, according to its chief executive, Phillips-Davies, who characterized it as the biggest construction effort since World War II.
But not everyone is cheering because some people are worried that the rise of wind farms, along with big pylons needed to transport the electricity, will change the countryside too much. Some critics say this new wave of wind power will be more about making money than saving the environment.
Local Concerns and High Bills
Moraig Lyall of the Shetland Islands Council said people on the islands are not seeing the real benefit they had hoped for. While the wind farm does produce a great deal of energy, locals still have to bear high electricity bills-more than double the UK average: “People look out their windows now, they see all these turbines that are generating lots and lots of energy, but they’re not seeing the benefit here.”
Many islanders feel they are stuck, staring at turbines but aren’t seeing the cheaper energy they had expected. Concerns about how this is affecting the beautiful Shetland landscape and the peat bog environment, so crucial for wildlife and the local ecosystem, do exist. Then, there’s the question of tourism as well since these islands are known for their natural beauty.
Money Matters and Future Projects
The reason is that the Viking Wind Farm has a “community benefit fund,” part of an effort to leave something with the islands during the life of the project, but locals say it is just a drop in the ocean; £72 million over 25 years. At the same time, the company has raked in over £2 million from “constraint payments,” which it receives when the power grid cannot handle power produced. This left some islanders thinking they are not getting a good enough deal.
But Shetland is not alone in feeling the pressure. On the mainland, too, communities are objecting to new plans for giant pylons to carry electricity from wind farms like Viking to cities and towns across the UK. Groups such as Save Our Mearns argue that new pylon lines and renewable projects will industrialize vast tracts of countryside for generations to come.
Kate Matthews, from Save Our Mearns, warned, “The rest of the UK doesn’t know what’s coming,” with plans for new pylons in places such as Essex, Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, and parts of Wales. There is a fear that this will usher in a period of change that will forever alter the countryside that is familiar to them, with constant building and new energy projects sprouting in every direction.
The Push for Faster Decisions
To make life easier for such huge projects as Viking, UK and Scottish ministers have promised changes in the planning laws. At present, planning can take an inordinately long time-up to 20 years. According to Phillips-Davies, SSE thinks that this needs to change. He is calling for faster decisions so projects get approved or rejected in just one year.
One of the projects, Berwick Bank, has been waiting nearly two years for permission to build what would be the world’s largest offshore wind farm. It may mean that, in cases where governments are able to accelerate their planning processes, more wind farms and renewable energy projects can get up and running quicker.
Look to the Future
The Viking Wind Farm is a big step in the right direction, but there are obviously still challenges. From local worries about high bills and changing landscapes, to debates about how best to transport power-as with much in life, it’s just not quite that simple story of triumph in wind energy. Finding that balance between progress and preserving what people love about their communities will be key for the near future, if more projects like Viking come online.
