Irish renewable project developer Mainstream Renewable Power has won a two-year court battle over its proposed 450 MW Neart Na Gaoithe offshore wind project in Scotland (United Kingdom).
The offshore wind project was approved by the Scottish government in October 2014, along with SDIC's 784 MW Inch Cape wind project, and the Seagreen Alpha and Bravo projects (525 MW each). The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) sued the government, considering that it had failed to take into account risks for sea birds when approving these four large offshore wind projects with a total capacity of up to 2.3 GW. In July 2016, the Scottish Court of Session ruled in favour of the RSPB but the Scottish government filed an appeal and the decision was overturned in May 2017.
The Inner House of the Court of Session has just rejected the RSPB’s application to appeal the Court’s earlier decision to the Supreme Court, paving the way to the development of the project. Mainstream Renewable Power now expects to start work on the project in 2018.
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