Renewables industry leader speaks of regret over lost time

The chairman of green energy industry body Scottish Renewables bemoaned three lost years for the offshore wind sector north of the border.

In her professional capacity as a partner with legal firm Shepherd & Wedderburn, Pat Hawthorn became involved in fighting RSPB Scotland’s bid to overturn planning permissions granted by Scottish Ministers for the giant Inch Cape, Seagreen and Neart Na Gaoithe (NNG) windfarms in the outer firths of Tay and Forth.

The case fell earlier this month after the UK Supreme Court denied the bird protection charity the right to appeal an earlier ruling dismissing their case.

The move effectively released the brakes on the arrays, and NNG developer Mainstream Renewable Power now expects work to begin on its £2 billion project early in the new year.

The construction phase on NNG alone will create hundreds of jobs locally and help sustain the local supply chain.

However, Mrs Hawthorn said anyone who saw the end to the legal case as a cause for celebration was wrong.

“Any sense of triumph or vindication over the ruling from the Supreme Court not to allow the challenge by RSPB against the consents granted to the Firth of Forth and Tay offshore windfarm developers in 2014 is misplaced,” said Mrs Hawthorn in a blog post.

“Here we are in November 2017, three years behind where we should be, and three years behind similar projects in UK waters.”

She said the three arrays were now embarking on a “long journey to delivery”, and she hoped RSPB Scotland and the developers could move to a “constructive but realistic dialogue”.