Written by David McPhee
Lewis Wind Power (LWP) intends to seek additional planning consent for its
proposed Stornoway Wind Farm to use larger, more efficient turbines.
The firm said a consultation will be sought to ensure it has the “option”
of using the latest and most productive onshore wind turbines on the market.
The company will meet with local residents and businesses at a public
exhibition in Stornoway Town Hall on Tuesday 12 and Wednesday 13 February.
The meeting follows on from an initial consultation event last October.
LWP said it believes the alternative design may be “necessary to generate
power at the cost required to compete for long-term contracts in a
government-backed auction taking place later this year”.
Contracts are awarded by National Grid on a competitive basis with onshore
wind farms on Lewis and Shetland competing with major offshore wind
developments in the North Sea.
Will Collins, Project Manager, Lewis Wind Power, said: “Since our existing
consent was granted in 2015, turbine technology has moved on significantly,
delivering substantial reductions in cost.
“We believe that we may need to have the option of this new design if we
are to successfully compete against offshore wind for the long term
government contracts required to support our investment in the project.”
The developer has made a number of changes to its plans since an initial
public exhibition in Stornoway in October last year and is again seeking
feedback from the local community.
Mr Collins added: “We have worked hard to develop a proposal that would use
the very latest wind turbine technology and which minimises local impacts
wherever possible. We have also made a number of changes to our plans in
light of feedback from our last public exhibition and from consultees.
“For example, we are now looking at tip heights of 180m rather than 187m on
the tallest turbines – very much in line with other onshore wind farms
proposed on the Scottish mainland – and we have also moved the proposed
sites for a number of turbines further away from the town of Stornoway in
response to comments from local residents.
“We look forward to talking through our plans at the exhibition and we will
then take some time to consider the questions and comment we receive along
with feedback from bodies such as Scottish Natural Heritage before
submitting an application to the Scottish Government.
“We hope the community of the Western Isles will get behind our
application, which we believe gives us a stronger chance of being able to
deliver the project, with the success of Stornoway Wind Farm and our
Uisenis development central to unlocking investment in the new
interconnector with the mainland.”
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