OIC secure £62.1m loan to fund Quanterness wind farm

Orkney Islands Council (OIC) has secured a £62.1 million loan from The National Wealth Fund (NWF) for the authority’s six-turbine wind farm at Quanterness.

The debt facility, provided through NWF’s local authority advisory and lending team, will cover the cost of the project build.

The project — in development since 2019 — was unanimously backed by elected members in February this year, and will see six 149.1m turbines built at the site in St Ola, situated between Kirkwall and Finstown.

The NWF loan provides low-cost, flexible and long-term financing for the community wind farm, meaning no further draw from the council’s strategic reserve fund (SRF) is required to deliver the project — with an option to return funds spent to date back to the SRF through the loan.

The 28.8MW wind farm will generate electricity which will be exported on to the national grid, providing a source of income for the council, which the authority says, will be used to protect and develop vital public services.

In August, contracts were awarded following a procurement process to Nordex for the design, supply, transport, installation, and commissioning of the turbines and a Maintenance Service Agreement for 25 years of operations and maintenance service.

It is anticipated that work will get started on site in spring 2027.

Councillor Heather Woodbridge, leader of Orkney Islands Council, said: “The Quanterness project — as well as supporting the interconnector — will provide the council with much needed income to support vital council services.

“In our discussions with our community they have been consistently clear that they hugely value the services we provide, and they want to protect them.

“In order to achieve that community aspiration this council must explore all opportunities available to us — and the Quanterness wind farm is a great example of that.”