The Scottish Government has launched an appeal against the Court of Session’s decision to overturn planning consent for 2.3GW of offshore wind farms in the Outer Forth and Tay off the country’s east coast.
Holyrood confirmed today that an appeal has been lodged in a bid to salvage Mainstream Renewable Power’s 450MW Neart na Gaoithe, SDIC Power’s 784MW Inch Cape and SSE and Fluor’s 1050MW Seagreen wind farms.
All three projects had their consents overturned by Lord Stewart last month after the judge sided with RSPB claims that the consents granted in October 2014 by Scottish Ministers were defective.
“Scottish Ministers have begun the process of appealing Lord Stewart’s judgements. Due to on-going legal proceedings, the Scottish Government will not be commenting further on this case,” said a spokeswoman.
“In terms of our overall approach to renewables, Ministers remain absolutely committed to protecting our marine environment, while working to ensure we can realise the full potential of renewable energy projects across Scotland – including offshore wind.”
Lord Stewart ruled that ministers’ decision-making was “seriously flawed”. “To be clear, my primary conclusion is that the decision is so badly flawed that it can properly be set aside without further consideration,” said the judgement.
Meanwhile, Irish developer Mainstream Renewable Power said it has also launched a separate appeal in a bid to salvage consent for Neart.
Mainstream has been in arbitration with the Low Carbon Contracts Company since earlier this year after the counterparty terminated the project’s £114.39 CfD.
Image: Siemens
Holyrood renews RSPB battle
Mainstream also fighting to salvage 450MW Neart na Gaoithe wind farm
By EBS