The proposed new wind energy guidance produced by Orkney Islands Council, www.orkney.gov.uk  is littered with misunderstandings, incorrectly drawn maps and the positioning of turbines in the wrong places.  The guidance indicates that large wind farms, 2 to 5 times larger than Burgar Hill, should be located in the south isles even though not one single site in these isles can accommodate a windfarm of this scale.  It is not a coincidence that Orkney is developing cluster developments and single wind turbines, because in reality that is the space that is available, and it is misleading for OIC to suggest that a windfarm of 10 to 25 very large scale turbines could be built in the south isles; there would be unacceptable impacts on the scattered properties in the area.  It should also be noted that the guidance suggests that this policy will provide the shortest cable run to Caithness, but anyone who has navigated the Pentland Firth will be well aware of the very strong tidal currents and undersea chasms that prevent cable laying in this area.  A good site has large clearances to neighbours, no environmental constraints, a strong grid connection and easy site access.  There are limited available areas in Orkney, and it is not a coincidence that the largest windfarm is at Burgar Hill and that there are turbines on Burray, Stronsay and Sanday; these sites fulfil all the necessary criteria.

We can learn a lot from our Scandinavian cousins.  Models of local and community ownership were established by Denmark, demonstrating that it was quite possible to own your own machines; a good local project should provide £100 annual income for every £1000 of shares, with the initial investment returned at the end of the project.  It should be noted that Sweden and Denmark have had problems trying to identify suitable locations for wind farms, however the islands of Gotland in Sweden and Samso in Denmark are 100% Renewables Communities.  They are large islands with the same population densities as Orkney, so how have they managed?  In both cases they have clusters of machines and  single turbines,  and in addition they have locally-owned offshore windfarms, with the turbines around a mile from the coast.

Continued consumption of fossil fuels is having an ever increasing effect on the climate.  It may be too late to stop the changes, and the Orkney community should get ready for the effects; the world is going to get warmer and wetter, sea levels will rise and there will be global unrest.  Yet Orkney should be able to adapt to the coming changes, by ensuring economic and energy security and providing an example of how a small community can make a difference.  Transport to and around the isles and heating of our homes are real issues we need to address in the near future, yet one issue we can address now is energy security.  We have an abundant wind resource, and this can make us self-sufficient in the production of electricity.  Existing grid capacity in Orkney is 50 MW, the demand from all consumers is between 8 and 31 MW, and the average capacity of the built and consented wind energy projects is around 15 MW.   By doubling the capacity of wind projects in Orkney using local and community ownership we have the potential to make full use of our own resources, and by making Orkney energy secure we can control our own destiny, establish a secure economy and create a stable environment for our children.