6th Jul 2005 13:53
Scottish & Southern Energy PLC06 July 2005 SSE GENERATION AND VIKING ENERGY LTD PLAN FOR 600MW WIND FARM SSE Generation, the subsidiary of Scottish and Southern Energy ("SSE"), andViking Energy Ltd ("Viking Energy") have signed a Memorandum of Understandingwhich is expected to lead to the establishment of a joint venture aimed atdeveloping on the Shetland Islands a wind farm with a capacity of up to 600MW(megawatts). Viking Energy is the company formed to represent Shetland Islands Council'sinterests in large-scale wind energy development in Shetland. Its involvementwould make the 600MW scheme the largest community-backed wind farm developmentin Europe. SSE Generation and Viking Energy currently have separate proposals for 300MWwind farms in the central mainland of Shetland. They expect that the proposalswill be combined and lead to the creation of a plan for a single 600MW windfarm. Combining their separate proposals would enable the two organisationsmanage all of the issues surrounding the development of major wind farms, suchas environmental assessment, as part of a single project. Shetland is the windiest part of the UK which is, in turn, the windiest countryin Europe. A wind farm on the Islands could be expected to have a load factor ofup to 50%, meaning it would produce electricity at close to its maximum capacityfor around half of the time. This would make it the most productive wind farm inEurope. The development of the 600MW wind farm is subject to, amongst other things, theformal establishment of the joint venture between SSE Generation and VikingEnergy, consent for the wind farm being secured from the Scottish Executiveunder Section 36 of the Electricity Act and on the provision of an underseacable connecting the Islands to the electricity transmission system on theScottish mainland. At present, the Shetland electricity system is not connected to the electricitynetwork on the mainland. The Islands are currently supplied by a 67MW powerstation at Lerwick, constructed in 1953, and by electricity generated at theSullom Voe oil terminal and the existing Burradale wind farm. The provision of an undersea cable by Scottish Hydro-Electric Transmission Ltd,also a subsidiary of SSE, requires Ofgem to approve the necessary investment.This means developers of renewable energy projects in Shetland have todemonstrate the viability of their investment proposals. Ian Marchant, Chief Executive of Scottish and Southern Energy, said: "Ouragreement with Viking Energy is a major step forward for the renewable energyambitions of Scotland, the Shetland Islands and SSE. It brings a significantstep closer the development of the most productive wind farm in Europe. Combining our proposals with Viking Energy should lead to a larger and morecoherent development on the Islands. In looking at the issues around an underseacable, we also need to assess what should be the long-term role of the existingpower station in the Islands. Despite the many challenges, I am optimistic thatwe will be able to demonstrate the viability of an undersea cable to themainland." Enquires to: Julian Reeves, Corporate Communications 0870 900 0410Jennifer McGregor, Corporate Communications 0870 900 0410 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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