Possible Legal Issues
On September 24 2013, following a judicial review, Lady Clark of Calton ruled that the decision by Ministers to consent the massive Viking Wind Farm in Shetland was unlawful on at least two grounds, the most important of which was the fact that the developer did not possess an electricity generating licence, and was not exempt from the need to do so.
We understand that this ruling does not just apply in Scotland, but throughout the UK, and that Lady Clarke argues all installations over 10M/W are subject to the same requirement.
The Scottish Government has announced that it will appeal Lady Clark's ruling, and yesterday at a preliminary hearing the Government and industry got the appeal fast-tracked. It still won't be heard until late February, with a decision not before the end of March at the very earliest.
Also, it seems that the wind industry is now trying very hard to get an amendment slipped into the Energy Bill (currently at the end of its third reading in the Lords ) to remove the need for wind farm applicants to have an OFGEM licence.
Meantime, it's alleged that a Scottish peer who is a director of a series of wind farm companies is attempting to nullify the above ruling. For full story from The Telegraph, click here