Representatives of Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission (SHE-T) recently met with members of Western Isles Council’s Energy Working Group, the council has said.
SHE-T outlined their recent activity around the Outer Hebrides inter-connector and their forward plan for the roll-out of the new grid connection. That forward plan is based around a number of critical milestones that can be summarised as follows:
- December 2015: submission of a “Needs Case” to OFGEM
- June 2016: anticipated “Needs Case” approval by OFGEM
- July 2017: completion of final project assessments
- August 2017: award of contracts and commencement of construction
- December 2020: completion of inter-connector
Council leader Angus Campbell said: “I was hugely heartened by the meeting with SHE-T and their outlined work programme for the roll-out of the inter-connector. For the first time in a long number of years we have a clear and concise timetable that sets goals and milestones for the completion of this essential grid link.
The inter-connector being laid between Norway and Denmark
“While there are still many challenges remaining this timetable puts us in an excellent position to realise real progress over the next five years. The focus placed on the inter-connector to the Outer Hebrides (and the other Scottish Islands) by both the UK and Scottish Governments and by SHE-T, OFGEM, National Grid and developers has allowed significant progress to be made over the past year. We must ensure, over the coming year, that all these partners now hold to that timetable.
“I will be writing to, and hopefully meeting with, the new Government after the election to remind them of existing commitments and seeking their assistance in ensuring the timetable is fully met.”
In his view, the new timetable offers the very best chance for the future of renewable energy in the islands. He said we have a set of commercial developers who have fully consented projects that are at a size and scale to afford the huge level of securities and under-writing that are required to fund an inter-connector project, which carries a capital cost in the region of £800m. Having worked closely with both Governments, SHE-T, OFGEM and others on the inter-connector project over the past decade, the leader said he was in no doubt that developers of scale, are absolutely essential for delivering the inter-connector. He was “100% clear” that without such projects of scale that the inter-connector as presently envisaged and timetabled will not proceed.
“For me one of the key benefits from the inter-connector as presently designed will be the huge new benefits it will offer to the growing community renewables sector. The delivery of the inter-connector will stabilise the existing community projects that are grid constrained and will open out new opportunity for the development of additional community projects and community generation. Without the inter-connector there is little scope for new community initiatives. It is essential, therefore, from both a commercial and community renewables perspective that the present inter-connector plan is delivered and that the outlined timetable is fully achieved.”
This is 15 years late and the boat has well and truly sailed. A huge missed opportunity due to the SNP – macneil and Allan – opposing the wind farms.
15 years late *already*.
In five years time there will be nobody in gainful employment in the Western Isles save for those who are looking after the remaining old folk.
Everyone else will have relocated to the mainland, driven there by the basket case that is the islands economy.
This state of affairs has been presided over by the SNP, MP, and MSP, aided and abetted by their supporters, such as MWT, who ensured that there would be no renewable development of any size in the islands when they supported Macneil and Allan a few years ago.
Neither of these “gentlemen” care a fig that our economy is in ruins, with shops and businesses closing weekly, and ferry services fit for a century ago. All they can say is “not me gov’ other watch”
Anyone looking at the town center business can it has died on its feet
Well Iain, I thought I would let you have my thoughts on the Town Hall hustings last night, my new pal Cathy and me went along much to my husband’s disgust because Cathy banned his Icelandic banners that he had spent all weekend in the shed painting, and a good job too for it wasn’t that kind of meeting, organised as it was by the Christian Alliance.
I will give you my thoughts on each candidate in turn, and it is only fair to begin with the Christian Party fellow, who was well behaved but very morose and not inspiring.
Ruaraidh was there but I couldn’t hear him being near the back of the hall and Angus Brendan, who was sat beside him kept hogging the mike to no avail. Ruaraidh is a nice fellow and I am sure he will do well enough, but I don’t think he will stop selling veg in Stornoway any time soon.
Angus Brendan was very twitchy and I asked Cathy if he was ” fist pumping” again but she said “no, he is twerking”!
Well he would have been better doing that because he had nothing to say about what he had done these last ten years, but he is in favour of Full Fiscal Astrology which drew a laugh from the other candidates and some of the audience but nobody believes that star sign nonsense anymore, and to base your entire economic policy on Mystic Meg is as foolish as basing it on the price of crude oil. He had his clapping seals at the back with him, but they tended to clap at the wrong moments and the choice of the Union Jack Club tie was unwise, although he kept his jacket on throughout.
The Tory fellow was nice and jolly and gave good answers, but they were the wrong ones for the audience,but I am sure that he will shore up the Tory vote and move on to better things. I like Ruth Davidson too.
Alasdair Morrison was very good and he silenced the clapping seals more than once although they tried to interrupt him more than once. His message of helping the poor and disadvantaged went down well and you could see plain as day that he was the best candidate for the islands, putting people before party as he said himself.
The Chair Reverend Ivor Martin was very good and kept control of any unruly elements at the back, and I would vote for him too, if he were not of the Free Church variety and I am CofS as you know.
Cathy pointed out the Returning Officer who was there, but she said he was not wearing party colours.
We wandered home afterwards all the way out Cromwell Street, Bayhead and Macaulay Road home to Manor, past all the shops and closed businesses.
The office in Bayhead was closed and dark, and all the SNP people looked as morose at the end of the night as the Christian Candidate.