Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) has scrapped plans for a 378MW wind farm located two kilometres off the west coast of the Kintyre peninsula in Scotland, after initial surveys revealed poor wind resources and strong opposition from local communities.
The utility announced last week it had stopped work on the Kintyre offshore wind farm project, but insisted it will continue with plans for a 690MW sister project 13km off the west coast of the Isle of Islay.
"Initial site survey work and consultations relating to the wind farm planned to be developed 2km off the west coast of Kintyre have identified a number of factors that have led SSE to decide not to proceed further with the development of this site," the company said in a statement. "These include: the wind resource, the proximity to Campbeltown Airport and local communities, and the impact on recreational sailing in the area."
Feedback from a series of public exhibitions showed 72 per cent of people were either against, or strongly against the Kintyre project. By comparison, nobody was against proposals for the Islay project and 60 per cent were in favour.
SSE now plans to submit an application to the Scottish Government to develop the Islay wind farm at the end of 2013, although it notes that there will be a number of challenges resulting from difficult weather and seabed conditions, which it predicts will apply to many of the Round 3 and Scottish Territorial offshore wind farms.
Colin Hood, chief operating officer at SSE, insisted the utility remains committed to the offshore wind sector, despite the decision to scrap the Kintyre project.
"Having assessed the wind resource, listened to the concerns of local residents, businesses and other stakeholders, and having regard to the impact on Campbeltown Airport and the recreational sailing community, we believe our decision to halt the development of the Kintyre site is the responsible course of action to take," he said.
He added Islay has "massive potential" to contribute to the government's renewable energy targets and said he expected the industry will have developed technology to cope with many of the challenges expected for Round 3 projects by the time it is built.
"Our proposed timetable for developing [Islay] will allow time for the innovative development of the offshore technology and construction techniques necessary to build a wind farm in such a challenging environment."
The news came as SSE yesterday announced that a new joint venture backed by the company has been named as the preferred bidder to acquire the Skykon Campeltown wind turbine plant, which is currently trading in administration. The facility is expected to be used to produce turbine towers for SSE's offshore wind developments.
source: www.businessgreen.com
