Comprising eight wind turbines, a battery energy storage system, substations, access tracks, and a range of habitat management areas, the Neshion Energy Park development is designed and managed on behalf of Neshion Ltd by Lerwick-based renewable energy company Shetland Aerogenerators Ltd with support from a team of expert environmental and technical specialists led by consultancy firm Ramboll. With a maximum blade tip height from ground of 200 meters, the turbines would be the tallest and most powerful built in Shetland.
The project will provide Shetland’s first Local Energy Discount Scheme to directly reduce electricity bills and address fuel poverty at an individual household level. Additionally, Neshion Ltd, the developer, has committed a minimum of 5% of the project to be available for community ownership alongside an ambition to gift a share of the development to improve the viability of any community stake.
The developer has identified measures to prioritise Shetland’s local supply chain and support skills training and local employment. Through connections to existing local infrastructure, Neshion Energy Park has the potential to be a catalyst for a clean fuels transition, supporting jobs and the sustainable future operations at neighbouring SVT by providing clean electricity for recently announced e-fuel initiatives. If consented, the project increases Shetland’s efforts to tackle climate change and support energy security.
The application for consent includes a full Environmental Impact Assessment, which can be viewed on the project website (www.neshionenergypark.co.uk) or on the Scottish Government Energy Consent Unit website (www.energyconsents.scot) under application reference ECU00006120. The window for comments or submissions to the Scottish Government will open on Thursday 6th August 2026 and will close on Monday 14th September 2026.
Physical copies of the application and Environmental Impact Assessment documents will be available for viewing, free of charge, during normal office hours at Shetland Library (Lower Hillhead, Lerwick) and Shetland Islands Council Planning Service (8 North Ness, Lerwick) during the consultation period.
Development Manager Brendan Hall said:
“We are delighted to reach this significant milestone in the development of Neshion Energy Park. Preparation of the planning application has taken over four years, with extensive surveys and technical assessments carried out to inform our design. Our community engagement events provided immensely valuable feedback to help shape and refine the proposal – particularly the selection of a Local Electricity Discount Scheme as the preferred option for community benefit.
Our vision is to deliver clean sustainable energy, along with improved energy security and local employment opportunities. We are excited about the potential for this project to make a major contribution to these goals by providing clean power to Sullom Voe Terminal and continuing our story of locally-owned and operated energy development”.
Chief Executive David Thomson said:
“This project moves Shetland’s conversation about energy onward into the delivery of decarbonisation and how we begin to end our crippling dependency on fossil fuels. Shetland’s journey to clean energy is well underway but external pressures are already squeezing our traditional energy sector. We are seeing the increasing risk of losing an existing workforce of hundreds of local skilled jobs and we have a chance to find new roles and new ways of producing energy. Neshion Energy Park is an opportunity to use existing industrialised infrastructure to pioneer an actual Just Transition in Shetland.”