FacebookMedia release 11/11/09
Sustainable Shetland – Media Release.
Advertising watchdog find against wind farm advert
Sustainable Shetland, say they are pleased that the Advertising Standards Authority have upheld four key complaints lodged by the group against an advertising leaflet published by wind farm developer Viking Energy.
The initial complaint, dating from May, was made by the group who are opposed to plans by Viking Energy to build Europe’s largest wind farm in the Shetland Islands.
The adverts watchdog found that Viking Energy, in a leaflet issued to every household in Shetland, had broken ASA rules regarding environmental claims, substantiation and truthfulness.
Speaking on behalf of the 650 member community campaign, vice Chair Kevin Learmonth said:
“We are pleased with this ASA judgement, it shows that Viking Energy cannot claim a specified sum as income to the community, cannot claim a specified profit until all costs are known and contracts in place, and cannot claim a specific carbon payback figure as being definite”.
Mr Learmonth said that the ruling “puts a big question mark over Viking Energy’s key financial and environmental claims”.
However, the community group remain very concerned that Viking
Energy used, and continue to use, Shetland community money to print
and
distribute information which the ASA have found to be untruthful,
unsubstantiated
and misleading. He added that
“What’s really worrying here is that Viking Energy is still making
the same claims despite the ASA telling them not to do so.”
Read ASA ruling in full: http://www.asa.org.uk/asa/adjudications/Public/TF_ADJ_47582.htm
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Sustainable Shetland is a campaign group formed in March 2008 in response to a proposal for a large scale wind farm in Shetland. We believe these large industrial projects are damaging to our environment. We believe that the Viking Energy wind farm endangers Shetland Community Funds, project costs are underestimated and project income grossly over stated.
We believe that the Viking Energy proposals are everything we do not need in Shetland: they are financially risky and potentially damaging to the Shetland environment.
We want to see sustainable renewable energy projects in Shetland which are fit for scale and fit for purpose, and provide real community benefit.
We are not an "anti windfarm" campaign. However we are strongly opposed to the Viking wind farm proposal. Other projects will be considered on their own merits.
