Final decision on Orkney's Community Wind Farm Project now with the Scottish Government

The Scottish Government has called in Orkney Islands Council's planning application for a six-turbine wind farm on Faray in the North Isles.

This latest development means the future of Orkney's Community Wind Farm Project - encompassing three proposed wind farms at Faray, Quanterness and Hoy - currently rests with the Scottish Government, with Ministers responsible for making the final decision on whether or not to grant planning permission for the proposed sites.

The Council previously wrote to the Scottish Government to request that they consider calling in the applications - principally based on the potential national significance of the project.

The project is considered to be of national significance because of the potential for a direct influence on a new subsea interconnector between Orkney and the Scottish Mainland which has been identified in the National Planning Framework 3 (NPF3) as a National Development.

A new interconnector would make a significant contribution to meeting national net-zero carbon emissions targets and would follow on from the Scottish Government and local authorities across Scotland (including Orkney Islands Council) declaring a Climate Emergency.

Furthermore, a recent economic report found that the cable could be worth at least £371 million to the Orkney economy, rising to £807 million if the wave and tidal energy industry makes use of the cable too.  For Scotland the figures are a minimum of £606 million, rising to up to £1.48 billion.

In September 2019, the electricity market regulator, Ofgem, published its final decision on the Needs Case for the new interconnector, setting out that planning permission for 135MW of new generation was required and that this would require to be signed up to a grid connection agreement, and pass a financial audit before the end of 2021 in order to trigger the interconnector. This was later extended to 2022 as a result of the delays experienced due to the pandemic.

In order for Orkney to meet the Needs Case, the Council has taken a 'developer approach', working on proposals for the three 28.8MW sites, with six 150m high turbines on each. 

With just 45MW of projects currently consented, the 86.4MW that could be generated by ‘Orkney’s Community Wind Farm Project’ would make an essential contribution towards meeting the 135MW target.

As well as contributing to net zero targets and helping to meet the Needs Case, the projects would also generate significant income for the Council – estimated at £6m per year - helping to support and protect valuable services in the county, as well as providing a location-specific community benefit scheme.

Applications for Quanterness and Hoy were called-in in March and October 2020 respectively.

Representations made to Orkney Islands Council's Planning Authority during the statutory public consultation period have been passed on to the Scottish Government, including representations from SEPA, NatureScot and Historic Environment Scotland.

Further details are available on the DPEA website - https://www.dpea.scotland.gov.uk/ - search for case reference CIN-330-001.