Back of the queue – no connection date for proposed Kinlochbervie windfarm

Energy firm Galileo is facing a major setback as the national grid operator has not provided any future connection date for its proposed windfarm at Kinlochbervie.

Campaigners from Keep Kinlochbervie Special say this means any electricity produced could not be used locally or exported elsewhere.

The proposed development, featuring up to 18 wind turbines 200-metres in height would require a massive 20-mile (32 km) high-voltage overhead line across northwest Sutherland to connect to the electricity network. The proposed development site is close to treasured landscapes such as Sandwood Bay and Cape Wrath.

The latest NESO (national energy system operator) register has ranked the project as ‘Gate 1’.

Gate 1 projects do not have a confirmed connection date; have not secured a place in the connections queue and are not guaranteed a connection at any point in the future.

Adding to Galileo's challenges, a landmark legal judgement in February this year ruled that the relationship between wind farms and their proposed grid connections must be properly considered in environmental impact assessments. The decision means that wind farms cannot simply treat their grid connection as a separate future project without considering whether the two together constitute a single project and whether the environmental impacts of the grid connection should be assessed alongside those of the wind farm itself.

Richard Osborne, speaking on behalf of Keep Kinlochbervie Special commented: “If this project cannot function without a grid connection, how can its total environmental impact be properly assessed? The Court of Session judgement means developers are not excused from evaluating these impacts. Yet, due to its ‘Gate 1’ status, Galileo's connection remains entirely unconfirmed, leaving the planning application in limbo.”

Galileo's Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) must fully evaluate the landscape and environmental impact of both the 200m turbines plus the 20 miles or more of new pylon lines crossing sensitive peatland, National Scenic Areas, Special Areas of Conservation and designated Wild Land.

Richard Osborne continued: “Mapping and surveying a legally bulletproof 20-mile transmission route would cost millions of pounds in additional environmental work before an application can even be submitted. But if Galileo doesn’t do so, its application would likely be invalid. Confronted with this paradox, the justification for continuing the project becomes highly questionable. It’s difficult to imagine any firm spending such a huge sum of money assessing the environmental impact of a hypothetical grid connection that may never actually materialize.”

Historically, developers minimized upfront planning risk by ‘project-splitting’ —applying for the wind farm first and addressing pylon routes years later. Since the Court of Session judgement, attempting this ‘project splitting’ tactic would potentially leave energy firms at risk of a judicial review, should planning permission be granted.

Galileo has previously said the grid connection will be dealt with in a separate planning application, which could fall foul of the Court of Session ruling.

Developers of major energy schemes have typically waited between 10 to 15 years for a grid connection due to the sheer number of major energy developments being put forward in Scotland. The reformed connections process announced by NESO divides projects into Gate 1 and Gate 2 projects, with only Gate 2 projects being progressed for grid connection.

NESO has published the following message to energy companies allocated Gate 1 status: "Your Gate 1 outcome will remain in place until you either reapply in a future connections application window and meet the criteria for Gate 2 or choose to terminate your project. In either case, your project will not progress into delivery under the reformed connections pipeline at this time…. Any further work you choose to undertake to progress your project carries significant risk, as there is no guarantee of a connection."

Richard Osborne at the site of the proposed windfarm in Kinlochbervie. Image credit David Lintern.