ESB acknowledges its Stoura windfarm off Shetland will change fishing industry
Developers off an offshore windfarm have acknowledged the project will “undoubtedly” change the fishing industry - but claimed there had also been a lack of “solid information” about the risks.
ESB floating wind director Cian Desmond provided an update on the 500MW Stoura windfarm to members of the Association of Shetland Community Councils on Wednesday.
Asked whether ESB cares about the fishing industry and the effects the development will bring, Mr Desmond insisted: “We very much do”.
Mr Desmond said his team had met representatives of the fishing industry as well as wives of fishermen at public exhibitions.
“I've had conversations with them, which were difficult conversations,” he said.
“But I think there's also a lack of solid information currently available on the impact of offshore wind on commercial fisheries.
“There's talk about the cables mesmerising crabs and destroying spawning grounds, and there's no real evidence for that.
“So we think we need to take a more evidence-based approach to what we're doing
“It's definitely going to change the dynamics, but at the same time, it's going to create a whole new industry.”
Mr Desmond said ESB was looking to develop, build, own and operate offshore wind developments to support the transition to net zero.
He said the company, which is majority owned by the Irish government, was not in the business of building assets and “flipping them” - selling them on to other developers.
“We're in it for the long haul, and we're hopeful that the relationships that [my team] are cultivating and building in Shetland are going to last for 40 years.
“That's the plan. Everything we do is driven by our net zero strategy.”
The site is located around 40km east of Skerries.
Currently, the proposal is to have 28 18MW wind turbines, although there could be more, smaller turbines, or fewer, larger ones.
There are four main types of floating turbine - and currently ESB is leaning towards using “semi-submersible technology”, which Mr Desmond said would be most compatible with the existing port infrastructure.
Onshore, there will need to be infrastructure built in the North Mainland, which will be informed by future stages of consultation.
Much of it will depend on where SSEN Transmission builds its HVDC hub, which Mr Desmond described as the “centre of gravity” for all of the renewables developments happening in the area.
“So that's a key piece of the puzzle that we're still waiting on,” he said.
There will also be cabling - and Mr Desmond said some of this would involve pylons.
While he accepted these would be more visible than underground cables, he said there would be less disturbance to peatland.
Mr Desmond said the “last piece of the puzzle” would be a substation.
This, he added, would be about the size of Gilbertson Park in Lerwick.
The windfarm will take around four years to build and is currently estimated for completion in 2036.
Once operational, there will be regular and continuous maintenance, which will be served by an onshore facility.
Pointing to a similar ESB facility already in operation, Mr Desmond described a three-storey building with 1,000 metres squared of office and warehouse space, which houses a control room as well as logistics and space for spare components as well as a crew transfer location.
This would also be the location for training, retraining and apprenticeship programmes.
He said the other facility had created about 50 long-term, high-quality local jobs.
“They're well paid, they're highly skilled, so they're really sustainable jobs in all senses of the word.
“So some of the best type of employment that you can add to our rural economy.
“We're very proud of what we've achieved there.”
Mark Burgess, from Scalloway Community Council, asked about community benefit, suggesting it may not be available for a development built offshore.
Mr Desmond rejected the assumption that there would be no community benefit for an offshore development.
While there are no firm guidelines on the rate of payment for offshore windfarms Mr Desmond suggested it could align with the same rate for onshore developments - £5,000 per MW/h.
However, he added that the profit margins for renewables was “wafer thin” particularly for high risk projects.
And he said it was a “competitive landscape”.
“So if there's a high premium being paid to community benefit funds in Shetland, it might mean that we simply don't get a wind farm,” he added.
Delting Community Council chairman Alastair Cooper said the “rumour mill” was already speculating about a cable corridor in the Mossbank area, and advised ESB to “crystalise” its plans to keep the community on side.
Lucy Cummings, from Fetlar Community Council raised concerns about the visual impact - noting that people currently visited the island for the peace and tranquillity and feared they would not be impressed to see large turbines on the horizon.
ESB said it would be carrying out more consultation with the community and key stakeholders as the project develops.