RSPB Scotland to fight in court approvals for 2.3 GW of offshore wind

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) Scotland on Friday challenged in court the Scottish government’s approval of four offshore wind projects with a total capacity of nearly 2.3 GW.

The wildlife charity’s move is aimed at protecting seabird colonies that breed along the coastlines near the sites of the proposed wind parks. The four projects in question are the up to 450-MW Neart na Gaoithe scheme, the 784 MW Inch Cape wind farm and the Seagreen Alpha and Seagreen Bravo projects of 525 MW each.

“RSPB Scotland continues to support the development of carefully sited and designed renewables, including offshore wind. However, individual developments must be sited to avoid significant harm,” said a spokesman.

The four offshore wind farms could generate a total gross value added in the range of GBP 314 million (USD 476m/EUR 402m) to GBP 1.2 billion in Scotland over their lifetime, energy minister Fergus Ewing said when announcing the approvals in October. Developers Mainstream Renewable Power, Repsol (MCE:REP) and EDP Renovaveis (ELI:EDPR), SSE Plc (LON:SSE) and Fluor Corp (NYSE:FLR) were given the thumbs-up subject to strict conditions on bird protection and other environmental considerations.

(GBP 1 = USD 1.516/EUR 1.281)

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