Last September grassroots protest group Sustainable Shetland won its legal challenge against the Scottish Government after Lady Clark of Calton ruled its decision to grant planning consent for the Viking Energy project was incompetent.
She said the developer had not paid enough regard to the European Birds Directive in relation to the impact the project would have on the whimbrel, a rare wading bird.
But on Wednesday the Inner House of the Court of Session upheld Scottish ministers’ appeal against Lady Clark’s ruling – clearing the way for the project to go ahead more than two years after planning consent was granted.
Lord Brodie delivered the Inner House’s verdict that ministers acted lawfully in granting the project consent and that there was no breach of the birds directive.
Viking Energy Shetland chairman Alan Bryce said: “We believed the consent decision would stand up to the closest scrutiny and this outcome validates our position that this project can benefit the local and wider environment.
“The potential for substantial economic and environmental benefits for Shetland means that Viking Energy is in this for the long haul and we continue to look forward to advancing our plans to build what could become the world’s most productive wind farm and a crown jewel of Shetland’s economy.”
The decision will come as a bitter blow to members of Sustainable Shetland, which raised a six-figure sum in order to take its battle to stop the wind farm to the highest court in Scotland.
Its vice chairman James Mackenzie said the group was “disappointed that it has gone in the ministers’ favour”.
“We didn’t expect for the competency issue going our way, and we didn’t challenge that anyway, but we had hoped that the birds directive would have gone our way,” he said.
“We are still opposed to this development and we would not have done all this without the support of the membership and many other people who have been so generous”.
In a recent opinion column Mackenzie said that Sustainable Shetland may well consider going to the European Court of Justice should they lose their appeal.
Due to a cost restriction order granted in 2012, the group is now expected to pay only £5,000 of the Scottish Government’s legal costs as well as its own.
The decision will boost the SNP government’s aspiration to turn the country into the green energy powerhouse of Europe.
A government spokesman said the 457 megawatt project would play a “crucial part in triggering the installation” of a proposed 600 megawatt subsea cable connecting Shetland to the UK National Grid, enabling it to export electricity to the mainland.
“Establishing this infrastructure will also be a great incentive to other energy technologies being developed on the island,” the spokesman said, adding today’s decision “allows work to begin towards delivering this wind farm project”.
“Ministers are pleased to note that the courts have confirmed applications may continue to be accepted from parties who do not hold a generation licence at the time of application,” the spokesman said.
“We also welcome that the courts have confirmed that the Scottish ministers’ decision was lawful and that they had proper regard to the likely impact of the grant of consent on wild bird populations. This is welcome news for the renewables industry in Scotland.”
The spokesman added that the wind farm was forecast to bring £566 million of capital spending and an annual income of around £30 million a year to the islands.
The full judgement can be read here.
Court rules in Viking Energy"s favour
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