A planned £1.5 billion (€2.1 billion) offshore wind development by
Dublin-based Mainstream Renewable Power will be challenged in a Scottish
court this week over its environmental impact.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is fighting the
Scottish government’s decision to license the 450-megawatt Neart na Gaoithe
project along with three other major wind farms backed by SSE, Repsol and
others.
The four projects, with a combined capacity of 2 gigawatts, are located
near seabird habitats on the east coast of Scotland that are protected
under EU law.
Construction of Neart na Gaoithe was supposed to begin this year, but the
court could take months to make a decision in the judicial review, during
which time development would not be able to proceed. The court’s decision
could then be open to appeal.
Puffins and gannets
The four wind farms are projected to kill about 1,200 puffins and 1,100
gannets a year during the breeding season through collisions or
displacement, according to an assessment by the Scottish authorities. Neart
na Gaoithe itself will kill about 350 puffins and 230 gannets. Kittiwakes,
guillemots and razorbills will also be affected.
Mainstream chief executive Eddie O’Connor, a former chief executive of Bord
na Móna and founder of Airtricity, has said that Neart na Gaoithe will
generate enough electricity to supply more than all of Edinburgh’s homes.
The project’s 75 turbines will cover 80 square kilometres. The project has
been in Mainstream’s pipeline for a number of years, with the site in the
Outer Forth Estuary secured in 2009.
The upcoming court battle is likely to be an important test of how nature
protection and large-scale renewables development can be reconciled.
Protections
EU law offers strong protections for birds at their breeding sites. The
disputed projects are the largest planned to date in Europe in close
proximity to major seabird colonies.
When it submitted its legal challenge in January, the RSPB warned that if
the government decisions were allowed to stand, they could have “serious
implications for how birds and important wildlife sites are protected
across Scotland, the UK and beyond”. It emphasised that it strongly
supported renewable energy, including offshore wind, if projects were
“carefully sited”.
But industry lobby Scottish Renewables in January criticised the delay,
branding the RSPB’s action a threat to future progress in clean energy
production. The lobby noted that climate change is a major threat to
Scotland’s habitats and species.
The case will be heard in the Court of Session in Edinburgh, beginning
today. Mainstream did not respond to a request for comment.
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