September 26, 2018
Scotland

Increase planned for size of Viking wind farm turbines

Written by Shetland News | Wednesday, 26 September 2018 | www.shetnews.co.uk

Viking Energy will be applying to the Scottish Government to increase the size of the 103 wind turbines it plans to build in central Shetland.

In a letter to members of Shetland Islands Council, Viking says it intends to apply for a 10m increase in tip height variation to its planning permission to a maximum height of 155m. The rotor diameter will also increase by 10m to a maximum of 120m.

The rotors will be moved 5m further up the turbine masts, maintaining a 35m ground clearance below the turbine blades.

No changes to the area of the Viking Energy Wind Farm (VEWF) are proposed.

The letter says: “Turbine technology has moved on since Viking wind farm received consent in 2012. In the last decade, the annual electricity production per turbine has almost doubled. The planning variation is to enable Viking to take advantage of the best onshore wind turbines available and maximise the output of the site.

“The proposed change has been discussed with the Energy Consents Unit, Scottish Government, Shetland Islands Council, Scottish Natural Heritage and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Further statutory consultation will take place following submission of the application next month.”

The partnership between the Shetland community, represented by Viking Energy Shetland, and power company SSE, says it is “keen to share details with the local community and receive feedback.”

Viking will be holding a drop-in exhibition in the Voe Public Hall on Tuesday 2 October from 12pm to 8pm to “share our plans and allow the community and interested parties to discuss the proposed change with the project team.”

Exhibition materials will also be available to view on the Viking wind farm website www.vikingenergy.co.uk from Wednesday 3 October.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2018/09/26/increase-planned-for-size-of-viking-wind-farm-turbines/