The John Muir Trust – the UK’s leading wild land conservation charity – today warned that around one fifth (19%) of mainland Shetland will be significantly affected by 150 giant wind turbines if plans by Viking Energy are approved the Scottish Government. The Trust is urging members of the public to object before the consultation period closes on Tuesday the 28th of July.
The John Muir Trust formally lodged its objection to the proposal this week, arguing that the development will have a serious and hugely damaging detrimental impact on the landscape and visual quality of these unique and outstanding islands.
“The scale of this proposal is truly staggering and totally disproportionate for an island like Shetland,” commented John Hutchison, Chairman for the John Muir Trust. “Shetland’s treeless landscape will be completely dominated by the development, with the turbines visible in a 15 kilometer radius around the wind farm.”
The Trust is particularly concerned that the 18,700 hectares of upland habitat earmarked to be built over with 150 turbines, 14 borrow pits and 118 km of road includes a significant amount of active blanket bog. Any major disturbance of this fragile peat land will release significant amounts of stored CO2 into the atmosphere.
According to Viking Energy’s own estimate the development will result in a loss of 197 hectares of blanket bog, resulting in a ‘carbon payback period’ of between 2.3 years and 14.9 years (a wind farm’s lifespan is typically between 20 and 25 years). “It is hardly worth destroying such a special, wild place for the relatively small amount of carbon that may be saved,” commented Mr Hutchison. “Gigantic wind developments such as the Viking proposal should be sited on the UK mainland, away from deep peat and nearer to the consumers its electricity is for.”
The John Muir Trust is urging the Government to produce an energy strategy that focuses on energy conservation and not just generation. “We can’t simply build our way out of climate change,” commented Mr Hutchison. “It is both cheaper and less destructive to reduce energy need and waste, rather than cover the wild landscapes that define Scotland and its people with wind turbines.”
For details of how to object to the Viking proposal before next Tuesday’s deadline go to the Sustainable Shetland website.