Click here to search commentonline

ScotGov Rejects Lewis Windfarm Proposal

The John Muir Trust welcomed the decision on 21 April by the Scottish Government to reject the application by AMEC and British Energy for a 181 turbine Lewis Wind Power development on Lewis.  

“We welcome the government’s courageous decision not to forever scar one of Scotland’s top natural heritage sites with what would have been the largest wind development in Europe,” commented Helen McDade, the Head of Policy for the John Muir Trust. “This decision shows that the SNP Government is committed to sensitively developing green energy while protecting Scotland’s wild landscapes.”

“We call on the government to now help support Lewis’s economy with more sustainable energy projects,” added Helen McDade. “Smaller, community-owned wind developments, together with alternative renewable projects such as wave power, can help tackle climate change and generate income for the island.”  

Tidal & Wave Schemes

The John Muir Trust is convinced that less intrusive renewable alternatives such as tidal and wave energy are being overlooked in the dash for onshore wind. Edinburgh based Pelamis Wave Power ltd is now exporting the technology for the world’s first fully commercial wave power scheme 5km off the Atlantic coastline of northern Portugal. The scheme will eventually provide 20 MW of power via subsea cables to the Portuguese mainland.

Npower renewables is on the verge of lodging an application for the construction of a 3.5 to 5 MW wave device at Siadar, Lewis. The scheme, developed by Wavegem, will produce the equivalent energy to run 18% of all of the households on Lewis.

Tidal energy also has the potential to tap enormous reserves of reliable energy from the sea with a minimal visual impact. The Pentland Firth alone is described as the Saudi Arabia of tidal power, capable of delivering as much as 50% of all of Scotland’s electricity demand.

“We should be aiming at sustainably achieving a low carbon economy instead of having a goldrush of large-scale, industrial developments at the cost of the tourist industry that helps sustains us economically as a nation,” concluded Helen McDade.