Orkney Islands Council has called on the Scottish Government to make a planning decision on its Faray onshore wind project by October.
Leader of Orkney Island Council James Stockan has warned the delay to the final six-turbine, 28.8MW section of the Orkney Community Wind Farm is “jeopardising” the future of the complex as well as the interconnector needed to transmit power to the mainland.
Planning permission for the other phases, known as the Quanterness and Hoy projects, was granted in December last year.
The Scottish Government called in the Faray application in September 2021 but is yet to make a determination on the site.
In a letter to the government, the Council has pressed for urgent action as time is running out for the project to count towards the Ofgem needs case for a new interconnector between Orkney and the Scottish Mainland.
Ofgem has said that planning consent for 135MW of new generation is required if the new interconnector is to go ahead.
This new capacity would also require a grid connection and would need to pass a financial audit before the end of 2021 before the link could be rubber-stamped.
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 took a ‘developer approach’, working on proposals for the three 28.8MW sites, with six 150-metre high turbines on each.
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.
Stockan said: “At this point in time there are around 110MW of projects consented – including Orkney’s Community Wind Farm Project sites at Hoy and Quanterness.
“The only project which has potential to fill the remaining gap and trigger the cable before the end of year deadline is the Faray project – without it, the cable simply will not happen.
“In their previous determinations on Quanterness and Hoy, Scottish Ministers quite rightly highlighted the interconnector as being a key factor in their decision – and gave substantial weight to this, especially in view of the global climate emergency.
“These projects were successful in the latest Contract for Difference (CfD) auction round 4, which provides a guaranteed price for the electricity produced for 15 years and also contributes to the Ofgem needs case.
“However, the timescales are now tight – the project has been with the Scottish Government for close to a year now and we have therefore written to them to ask for urgent action.
“We need a decision on these projects before October – otherwise the future of these critical projects could be in jeopardy.”