Public invited to Orkney Community Wind Farms drop-in events

The team developing Orkney Community Wind Farms will head out to communities across the county next month and provide updates on the progress of the project.

The wind farms, being developed by Orkney Islands Council, consists of three 6-turbine developments located at Quanterness in St Ola, Wee Fea in Hoy and on the island of Faray.

If the Council decides to proceed with the project, the three sites will contribute nearly 90MW to the new 220MW electricity transmission link between Orkney and mainland Scotland, recently approved by Ofgem.

The series of community drop-in events will take place throughout September, with Council officers and Elected Members on hand to discuss the projects.

Details of the events are as follows:
•    Wednesday 6 September at The Pickaquoy Centre from 1pm – 4pm and again from 6pm – 8pm
•    Wednesday 13 September at the YM in Lyness from 1pm – 4pm and at the North Walls Centre from 6pm – 8pm
•    Monday 18 September at the Eday Heritage Centre from 1pm – 4pm and again from 6pm – 8pm
•    Monday 25 September at the Rendall Community Centre from 2pm – 7pm
•    Tuesday 26 September at the Community Room at Westray Junior High School from 2pm – 7pm

Orkney Islands Council Leader, James Stockan, said: “It’s been some time since the Council has gone out to communities and discussed the wind farm project face to face.

“These events are valuable because it gives people the chance to ask questions and understand why the Council is developing the wind farms, and the potential benefits and opportunities that they could bring to Orkney once operational.

“We encourage anyone with an interest in the project to come along, view the information available and discuss any concerns they may have.”

In addition to the drop-in events, a new website will be launched which will provide details of the project’s development and offer a central point of information.

Currently the Council’s officer team are updating the business model which includes further site investigations and feasibility studies, all of which will be presented to Elected Members next year who will then make the final decision on whether to go ahead with the projects.