Completion of Shetland green energy projects hailed as ‘major milestone’

Energy giants at SSE have announced the completion of what is expected to be the most productive onshore wind farm in the UK – along with a 160-mile long subsea link to take power generated on its island home to the mainland.

The two projects on the Shetland Islands, which are together worth more than £1 billion, have been described by SSE as a “major milestone on the UK’s path to a clean energy system”.

SSE Renewables has just finished construction of the Viking Wind Farm there, where it is thought the 103 turbines could produce enough electricity to power the equivalent of almost 500,000 homes annually.

The new wind farm takes the UK’s combined onshore and offshore generating capacity to more than 30 gigawatts (GW), with this said to be sufficient to meet the annual power needs of 26 million homes while cutting carbon emissions by more than 35 million tonnes a year.

At the same time a second renewable energy project on Shetland has seen SSEN Transmission energise a 160-mile (260-kilometre) long subsea cable, which will take electricity produced on the islands to the UK mainland.

The developments are both part of a commitment by Perth-based SSE to invest £20.5 billion in developing the UK’s renewable energy infrastructure by 2027.

And their completion means that for the first time hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses across the UK can be powered by renewable energy from Shetland – which according to the Met Office is the windiest place in the UK.

With the islands having an average annual wind speed of 14.6 knots, the Viking development is expected to be the UK’s most productive onshore wind farm in terms of annual electricity output.

Meanwhile the new 260km HVDC subsea cable, which runs from Kergord in Shetland to Noss Head, near Wick on the Scottish mainland, means the islands will be connected to the GB electricity grid for the first time ever.

Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney hailed the two projects as “a significant step in unlocking the green energy potential of the Shetland Islands”.

The projects will not only help to “stimulate sustainable economic growth in the local area”, he added, but will help with the Scottish Government’s “mission to bring about a just transition to net zero”.

SSE chief executive Alistair Phillips-Davies said: “Delivery of both the Viking Wind Farm and Shetland HVDC transmission link are big engineering achievements and together represent a major milestone on the UK’s path to a clean energy system.

“Shetland and the wider North Sea have long supported the country’s energy security and now they are playing a significant role in decarbonising our power system.”

If we are serious about delivering clean power by 2030 – less than 2,000 days away – we need to make it much easier and faster to build this kind of mission-critical infrastructure

However he said it had taken nearly 20 years for the projects to go “from concept to completion”.

And with the new Labour Government having a “national mission for clean power by 2030”, the energy boss added: “If we are serious about delivering clean power by 2030 – less than 2,000 days away – we need to make it much easier and faster to build this kind of mission-critical infrastructure.”

Mr Phillips-Davies pledged: “At SSE we are ready to play our part, delivering more vital projects, supporting more good jobs and ensuring our local communities share in the economic opportunities of this transition.”

Dan McGrail, chief executive of the industry body Renewable UK, said: “When the Viking project was first conceived nearly 20 years ago, the UK’s wind capacity stood at less than five gigawatts, and turbines were around 75% less efficient than they are now.

“Reaching the milestone of 30GW is a phenomenal achievement for the entire industry and further underlines the fact that wind is now the backbone of our future energy system, having generated a record 28% of our electricity last year.”

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: “By switching on Viking, the UK’s largest onshore wind farm, hundreds of thousands of homes in the Shetlands and right across the country will benefit from cheap, homegrown energy, and this project has created jobs and growth for local communities.

“This shows why we need more developments like this to make Britain a clean energy superpower – and that is why we lifted the onshore wind farm ban in our first 72 hours in Government.

“This will be a crucial part of delivering our mission for clean power by 2030 – reducing our reliance on volatile fossil fuel markets, boosting our energy independence and protecting consumers.”