LOCATION/TYPE

NEWS HOME

[ exact phrase in "" • results by date ]

[ Google-powered • results by relevance ]


Archive
RSS

Add NWW headlines to your site (click here)

Get weekly updates

WHAT TO DO
when your community is targeted

RSS

RSS feeds and more

Keep Wind Watch online and independent!

Donate via Paypal

Donate via Stripe

Selected Documents

All Documents

Research Links

Alerts

Press Releases

FAQs

Campaign Material

Photos & Graphics

Videos

Allied Groups

Wind Watch is a registered educational charity, founded in 2005.

News Watch Home

RSPB Scotland ‘disappointed’ by Scottish Government consent to Shetland Viking wind farm 

Credit:  ForArgyll, forargyll.com 4 April 2012 ~~

RSPB Scotland has greeted with disappointment the Scottish Government’s consent to the construction of 103 turbines by the Viking Energy development on Shetland.

Whilst RSPB sees the developer as having made welcome and considerable effort to reduce the potential impact of the initial proposal, reducing the number of turbines from an initial proposal of 200 to 103, it believes that the scale of the development should have been reduced still further to reduce the risk of harm to rare species.

These include whimbrel and red throated divers, for which Shetland is a UK stronghold.

The development will also have major adverse impacts on important peat land habitats. This damage could have been minimised if the overall scale of the development had been reduced further.

Aedán Smith, Head of Planning and Development at RSPB Scotland, says: ‘We recognise that Viking Energy has made significant efforts to reduce the direct impact of this development on Shetland’s unique wildlife.

‘The development will make a welcome contribution to meeting our ambitious renewables targets in Scotland, and will help to meet the challenge of climate change.

‘However, the developers and Scottish Ministers should have gone much further to try and ensure that any negative consequences would be minimised, and it is disappointing that they have decided to risk the Shetland environment, as well as birds like whimbrel, with such a large scale proposal in their heartland.

‘It is now absolutely critical that this development includes significant long term investment in research and habitat enhancement to make sure that the negative impacts on Shetland’s wildlife can be both offset and significantly reduced.

‘There are significant opportunities to deliver environmental enhancement across Shetland which will benefit wildlife and tourism. We look forward to working with the Viking developers to deliver this.’

Shetland is one of the most important areas for breeding birds in the UK, with many species protected under both the Scottish and EU Birds Directives.

The development site is in the core range of breeding merlin and red-throated divers and is particularly important for nesting whimbrel. Over 90% of the UK population nest on Shetland. Other species include Golden plover and Arctic skua.

We were aware of an apparent internal contradiction in the RSPB Scotland statement, with Aedan Smith saying above: ‘It is now absolutely critical that this development includes significant long term investment in research and habitat enhancement to make sure that the negative impacts on Shetland’s wildlife can be both offset and significantly reduced’.

This did not quite square with a footnote to the statement which said: ‘Research has shown that Scotland’s renewable energy targets can be met without harming Scotland’s most important places for wildlife’.

Smith is calling for research which the statement says already exists.

Form our own ongoing work in this field, the weight lies with Mr Smith’s pressing of the need for research.

We have, however, asked RSPB Scotland to point us to the research sources dealing, particularly, with the impact on marine mammals of marine turbines and of offshore wind turbines.

We are not aware of a substantial body of research results in these matters.

We are aware that impacts on the full spectrum of marine species needs serious researching but focused our request on marine mammals since they are likely to be an early focus for such research.

Source:  ForArgyll, forargyll.com 4 April 2012

This article is the work of the source indicated. Any opinions expressed in it are not necessarily those of National Wind Watch.

The copyright of this article resides with the author or publisher indicated. As part of its noncommercial educational effort to present the environmental, social, scientific, and economic issues of large-scale wind power development to a global audience seeking such information, National Wind Watch endeavors to observe “fair use” as provided for in section 107 of U.S. Copyright Law and similar “fair dealing” provisions of the copyright laws of other nations. Send requests to excerpt, general inquiries, and comments via e-mail.

Wind Watch relies entirely
on User Funding
   Donate via Paypal
(via Paypal)
Donate via Stripe
(via Stripe)

Share:

e-mail X FB LI TG TG Share


News Watch Home

Get the Facts
CONTACT DONATE PRIVACY ABOUT SEARCH
© National Wind Watch, Inc.
Use of copyrighted material adheres to Fair Use.
"Wind Watch" is a registered trademark.

 Follow:

Wind Watch on X Wind Watch on Facebook

Wind Watch on Linked In Wind Watch on Mastodon