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RSPB loses Scottish wind farm battle

By: Tom Russell 07/11/2017 4C Offshore

General Windfarms

The Scottish Supreme Court has rejected the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds' (RSPB) application for leave to appeal against four offshore wind farms in its long-running challenge against planning decisions made by Scottish Ministers in 2014.

The wind farms concerned are the Neart na Gaoithe, Inch Cape and Seagreen Alpha and Bravo. They have a combined capacity of 2,284MW. The Supreme Court’s decision to refuse RSPB Scotland’s application to appeal the Scottish Court’s earlier ruling clears the way to proceed with the construction of the wind farms, the closest to construction being the Neart na Gaoithe.

The RSPB initially submitted an appeal against the wind farms in January 2015 claiming that the wind farms would have a detrimental impact on resident and migratory birds and that the planning consents granted by Scottish Ministers were defective.

A ruling in RSPB's favour was made in July 2016 and saw planning consents for the projects revoked. Subsequently, Scottish Ministers appealed the decision and in May 2017 and Scotland's Inner House of the Court of Session overturned the ruling allowing for the continuation of the development of the four projects.

The RSPB again sought to appeal this decision and applied to the Inner House for permission to appeal to the Supreme Court in June 2016. The appeal was rejected by the Innner House which led RSPB to appeal directly to the Supreme Court in August 2017, leading to today's decision by the Supreme Court.

Neart na Gaoithe developer's Mainstream Renewable Power welcomed the decision which is thought to be an end to a long-running judicial battle with the RSPB blocking the development of the project. The 450MW array will cover an area of 105km² and is expected to meet the energy demands of 325,000 Scottish homes annually. Work is expected to start on the project in 2018 following today's decision.

The wind farm is said to represent an investment of £2bn, and is forecasted to create 500 direct jobs during construction and a further 100 direct, permanent jobs once built. Technological developments in wind turbine design in the three years since the project was originally consented has meant that the project now requires 60% fewer turbines than what was originally planned – to generate the same amount of renewable power.

Andy Kinsella, Chief Executive Officer, Mainstream Renewable Power said: “After more than two and a half years, two court hearings and two rejected applications for leave to appeal by RSPB Scotland, we can finally focus on delivering the very significant benefits this project brings to the Scottish economy and its environment.

“A study by the Fraser of Allander Institute shows the project will create 2,000 jobs each year during its four year construction period as well as hundreds of permanent jobs once operational. The project will bring £827 million directly to the Scottish economy over its lifetime.

“We are delighted with the decision and look forward to working constructively with RSPB Scotland to take the wind farm into construction next year.

“This project was consented by Scottish Ministers in October 2014 on the advice of Scottish Natural Heritage and Marine Scotland. We have been rigorous in our approach throughout the project, working with partners and supply chain businesses to find the best possible way to deliver the project. We look forward to seeing NnG up and running.

“We have taken advantage of significant advances in wind turbine technology allowing the number of turbines to be reduced from the 125 in the original design to a maximum of 54 today.”

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RSPB loses Scottish wind farm battle

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