Ministers in Scotland are ‘minded to refuse’ an application to build a 181-turbine on the Isle of Lewis in north Scotland, according to a leaked letter.
This development would cause huge environmental damage – endangering many bird species and considerably damaging the moorland’s peat, which stores significant amounts of carbon.
The Western Isles Council, which strongly supports the proposal, wants First Minister Alex Salmond to intervene and waive the plan through. This is against the views of the people the council represents; a poll on the Stornoway Gazette website showed 82 per cent of respondents did not want the wind farm.
The Scottish TUC, Scottish CBI and others claim that refusal of the Lewis application will jeopardise the future of the island’s economy and Scotland’s energy and climate change policies.
But the Executive has thoroughly analysed the evidence and is acting in accordance with EU law. The conclusions outlined in last week’s letter are in line with ministers’ own environmental and energy policies.
The letter concludes that the development would have ‘a serious detrimental impact on the integrity of the Lewis Peatlands SPA’. SPAs (Special Protection Areas) are Europe’s most important areas for birdlife and European law requires that these areas be given stringent protection.
This is the critical point. Damaging developments are allowed only on SPAs where there is no alternative and where there is over-riding public need. This same European legislation helped the Scottish government ensure ship-to-ship oil transfers in the Firth of Forth were better controlled – it is good to see ministers applying it again.
By law, governments are required to look at alternative solutions to SPA development proposals and the Scottish Executive rightly says there are other sites for the Lewis wind farm. It makes it clear that Scotland’s renewable energy targets are not at risk from the rejection of this development. It also explodes the myth that refusal will deny the island an interconnector link to the mainland.
Scottish ministers have promised that renewables will not be permitted at any cost. Developing the Lewis Peatlands SPA is too high a price to pay because it would cause untold damage to wildlife. The Executive’s letter recognises this. Any change of heart now would seem hugely irrational.
There are lessons to be learned from this debacle. The costs to all involved have been high and the issue has been a frustrating distraction from more useful efforts to tackle climate change.
More responsible developers have taken advice, planned and received consents for projects to avoid sensitive sites. UK administrations must now state firmly that protected sites are not up for sale.
Read more about the threat facing the Lewis peatlands here