£2bn wind farm faces the axe over fears it will kill birds

A £2billion offshore wind farm project on the verge of construction could be scuppered because of an unresolved legal challenge over fears it will kill too many birds.

The 450-megawatt Neart na Gaoithe wind farm would see up to 64 turbines, each up to 646ft tall, built nine miles off the coast of Fife.

It was one of only two offshore wind projects to win a crucial subsidy contract from the Government last year. But that deal could be revoked unless a judicial review brought by the RSPB against planning consent is resolved.

The charity argues the wind farm, together with three other proposed projects in the Firths of Forth and Tay, would be among “the most deadly for birds anywhere in the world”.

The building of more than 300 turbines in total would “pose too great a risk to the many thousands of resident and migratory seabirds”, it argues.

The challenge was heard last summer but no decision has been taken.

Siemens, which plans to take a stake in the project, has disclosed that the delay was due to the “backlog on a particular judge’s caseload”. This was “killing the opportunity to do a £2 billion project”, Matthew Knight, its head of energy strategy said.

The subsidy contract requires around £200million to be committed to the project by March 26.

Andy Kinsella, of project developer Mainstream Renewable Power, said it had lined up financing to cover the full £2billion project cost and was “ready to go and reach financial close”.

However, it cannot take “the last step” while the legal threat remained, since this could result in planning consent being declared “null and void”.

It has appealed to the Government’s Low Carbon Contracts Company to grant an extension to the milestone deadline, but it has so far refused to do so. “If they won’t grant any extension the project is dead,” Mr Kinsella said.

He said it was concerned that even if the RSPB challenge was thrown out in time or an extension secured, the charity could lodge further appeals that would prolong uncertainty and drive investors away. “The money can’t hang around for ever,” he said.

The March 26 deadline is intended to prevent projects that have been awarded subsidy contracts from the Government’s finite renewables budget from “bed blocking” other projects.