A crunch meeting of Shetland Charitable Trust to decide the future funding of the controversial Viking Energy windfarm will take place next week.
Trustees will be asked to agree to investing a further £6.3million into the 103-turbine project, in which it holds a 45% stake.
Last week Energy Minister Fergus Ewing approved a reduced windfarm on the hills between Nesting, Aith, Voe and Vidlin, increasing the value of the trust’s current £3.42million investment to almost £60million. The windfarm will be Scotland’s third largest and the world’s most productive.
The extra spending would cover the cost of taking the project to the construction stage, which could take up to two years. By then valuation consultants Quayle Munro estimate the value of the investment should have rocketed to more than £140million.
The issue was taken off the agenda of last month’s meeting when it was realised there would not be enough trustees present to form a quorum to make a legitimate decision on funding. They will meet on Monday, April 16, to discuss the next move.
The number of trustees who declare a conflict of interest every time the Viking Energy project comes up for discussion makes it harder to form a quorum on this issue.
The trust said that bearing in mind the level of public interest in the subject, it did not want people to make an unnecessary journey to attend the debate at Lerwick Town Hall.
A new report for trustees will be published tomorrow taking into account the minister’s verdict, removing the need to explore funding alternatives should there be a delay such as a public inquiry.
Trust chairman Bill Manson, who will be unable to participate in any debate himself as chairman of Viking Energy Ltd, said he was hopeful of having a quorum present on Monday. Addressing concerns that the trust may be trying to push through a decision on funding prior to the local authority elections, which will substantially change the trust’s membership, he said Monday’s decision could always be overturned at a future date.