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Following our submission of the ‘Orkney’s Community Wind Farm - Quanterness’ planning application to the planning authority last week, we’ve now written to the Scottish Government to request that they consider calling in the application for determination.
If they grant the request, then they will make the decision on whether or not to grant planning permission for the project – rather than the local planning authority.
If they turn our request down then the decision will be made by the local planning authority, although the Scottish Government may still take a role in reviewing the decision after that.
Elected members decided in December last year that the request should be made - principally based on the national significance of the project.
We believe that the project is of national significance because of the potential for a direct influence on a new subsea interconnector between Orkney and the Scottish Mainland - a project which has been identified in the National Planning Framework 3 (NPF3) as a National Development.
A new interconnector would make a significant contribution in meeting national net-zero carbon emissions targets and would follow on from the Scottish Government and local authorities across Scotland (including Orkney Islands Council) declaring a Climate Emergency.
In September 2019, the electricity market regulator, Ofgem, published its final decision on the needs case for the new interconnector, setting out that 135MW of new generation was required to have obtained planning permission, signed up to a grid connection agreement, and passed a financial audit before the end of 2021.
At this point in time, less than 40MW of new generation has gained planning permission and it is clear that, without Orkney’s Community Wind Farm Project - which includes sites on Hoy and on Faray as well as at Quanterness – that 135MW figure will not be met in time and a new interconnector will not be built.
Although it is in no way unusual for a Council service to lodge an application with the planning authority – schools, care homes, piers, housing developments etc all go through the same process - the perceived conflict of interest of the Council acting as both applicant and planning authority on this occasion has also been highlighted as a potential issue - which the Council believes could be resolved through independent determination by the Scottish Ministers.
If the 'Orkney's Community Wind Farm Project' proposals and sites are found through the planning process to be appropriate and the project goes forward, it could generate significant income and community benefit for Orkney. All profit would stay in the islands, enabling the Council to preserve and enhance key services that local people value and depend upon and providing a foundation for communities to drive transformational projects of their own.
Further information on the project is available here and on the Orkney’s Community Wind Farm Facebook page