Press releases

16/1/2014. £20,000 appeal launched

Sustainable Shetland is launching a nationwide campaign to raise funds for their Judicial Review into the Scottish Ministers’ decision to grant consent for the Viking Energy Windfarm. Read full press release.

3/10/2013. Court of Session rules in favour of Sustainable Shetland

Sustainable Shetland is delighted to receive confirmation today from the Court of Session in Edinburgh that the Scottish Ministers’ decision to grant consent to the proposed Viking wind farm has been set aside.

Lady Clark of Calton held that the decision to grant consent under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 was incompetent because Viking Energy Partnership did not have a licence to generate electricity.

Lady Clark also held that Ministers failed to have proper regard to the European Birds Directive.

Full press release. Read full judgement of Lady Clark of Calton.

11/11/09. Advertising watchdog pass judgment on Viking Energy leaflet

A leaflet published by Viking Energy partnership has been found to have breached ASA rules on truthfulness, substantiation and environmental claims. These key areas covered financial performance of the wind farm and environmental benefits. Read the Sustainable Shetland our response to this decision.

27/7/09. Sustainable Shetland lodge formal planning objection to Viking windfarm plans

Shetland community campaign Sustainable Shetland has today lodged a formal objection to plans by Viking Energy Partnership to build Europe's largest wind farm in the Shetland Islands. Read full Viking Energy wind farm objection press release

Main objection here. Landscape objection here.

14/7/09. Petition recount, still a stunning 3474

It has been announced that the new Sustainable Shetland petition total is now 3474 signatures. The petition, presented to Shetland Island councillors two weeks ago was originally announced as 3605 signatures. The petition called on Shetland councillors not to support the Viking Energy Project. Read more on recount.

07/07/09. Community money wasted on wind farm Facebook campaign says islanders

Shetland Charitable Trust, a community fund worth nearly £180m has been accused by campaigners of wasting community money to promote a wind farm with very little local support and a great deal of local opposition. Read full story

Sustainable Shetland to recheck petition numbers.

In an press release issued yesterday, Wednesday 1 July, Sustainable Shetland said it had collected 3605 authenticated signatures.

Despite checking, it seems that some duplicate signatures may still be present, although it is not expected to make a significant difference to the final tally. Sustainable Shetland wishes to apologise for this error, and will recheck the petition signatures and numbers. Read rest of press release

Shetland community says no to Viking Energy wind farm plans

The community of Shetland today (1 July 2009) presented a petition of over 3600 signatures to Shetland Islands Council convener Sandy Cluness.

The petition was presented by 13 year old Rachael Smith from Hillswick. Rachel is a very keen walker and naturalist, and is very opposed to plans to build Europe’s largest wind farm in Shetland. Read full petition presentation press release

Petition tops 3500 signatures

In one of the best attended AGMs Shetland has seen in many years, over 150 people packed into Whiteness and Weisdale public hall last night (Tuesday 9 June) to attend the first annual general meeting of campaign group Sustainable Shetland. Membership of which now stands at 592 and growing daily.

Members were told the local petition to Shetland councillors had reached a staggering 3558 validated signatures, over 95% of which came from within Shetland. Read full press release.

Campaigners ask local authority to stop paying wind farm project bills

11/03/09. Campaign group Sustainable Shetland has today written to Shetland Islands Council Audit and Scrutiny Committee asking that they cease payments for wind farm company Viking Energy Ltd, and that they recover £1.74m already spent on behalf of the company.

The company, which the council sold in September 2007, has continued to have all its costs met by money from the local authority, despite the council having no financial stake in it. As well as failing to invoice for these costs, the council continues to pay all the companies bills, as well as allowing the company to use council staff, services and resources, all without a single penny being repaid, or a single invoice issued. Read full press release.

Sustainable Shetland welcomes Burradale output figures

18/2/09. Burradale Wind Farm announce output data, Sustainable Shetland responds.

“We welcome these generation figures from the Burradale Wind Farm. They show that wind has a role to play in renewable energy production when built on suitable sites and connected to an existing local grid. These encouraging figures also show the great potential for community wind to heat schemes as proposed for Lerwick, Mid Yell and other communities throughout Shetland”. Read full press release.

Petition Launch

18/11/08. Campaign group Sustainable Shetland will today launch a petition opposing Viking Energy’s giant wind farm in central Shetland.

The launch will take place outside Lerwick town hall at 3:15 pm, Tuesday 18 November, and feature dramatic posters showing the scale of the proposed turbines Read full press release.

Sustainable Shetland welcome wind to heat plans

25/06/08. Campaign group Sustainable Shetland today welcomed SIC plans to erect two wind turbines in Lerwick as part of a wind to heat scheme.

Speaking on behalf of Sustainable Shetland, group member Kevin Learmonth said

“This wind to heat scheme looks exactly like the kind of scheme that should be happening in Shetland”. Read full wind to heat press release.