With 103 turbines, Viking is one of the UK's largest onshore wind farms.

After more than 15 years in development and with 103 wind turbines now installed, Viking has an installed capacity of 443MW.

Once complete in 2024, and due to the exceptional wind conditions in the Shetland Isles, Viking will become the UK's largest onshore wind farm in terms of electricity output^.

SSE Renewbles (SSER) became the sole owners of the Viking development in 2019, with the project having originally been developed as a joint venture with the Shetland community.

The community maintains representation on the Viking Management Board and will see an annual return throughout the operational lifespan of the wind farm. In addition, the Shetland community will also receive a community benefit fund of around £2.2m annually during the operational phase.

Installation of the first of the 103 wind turbines in April 2023

The first of the 103 Vestas wind turbine components were delivered to the site in early 2023 with the first fully assembled turbine achieved in April 2023.

August 2023 saw the installation of the last turbines marking a significant milestone for the development, just over three years since breaking ground.

Viking is expected to become fully operational in autumn 2024.

The last of the wind turbines was installed in August 2023
Shetland HVDC link

In addition to the construction of the wind farm itself, the high-voltage cable is being laid to link Shetland to the UK electricity grid by the transmission arm of Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks.

In July 2020 Ofgem approved the Final Needs Case for the 600MW HVDC transmission link connecting Shetland to the GB mainland.

The construction of Viking underpins the Shetland HVDC link and unlocks Shetland’s wider renewable energy potential, delivering Shetland’s future security of electricity supply and helping to decarbonise Shetland’s oil and gas sector.


Notes

^ Most productive UK onshore wind farm claim based on projected total generation output by Viking Wind Farm of 1.8TWh per annum and a comparison with the leading UK operational and in construction wind farms. Projected total generation output by Viking Wind Farm of 1.8TWh per annum confirmed in Environmental Impact Assessment Report for the wind farm, published here, and validated by both Shetland Islands Council and Scottish Government.