So, after many years, the interconnector is going to be. The capacity will be 1,800 MW (1.8 GW), three times what was proposed last time I looked at it. This will enable the establishment of a number of on-shore renewables projects in Lewis and Harris, including (presumably) the Muaitheabhal windfarm in Eishken, south of Stornoway. The cable will run from Arnish, across the water from my position, to Dundonnell on the mainland, west of Ullapool, and thence to a switching station near Beauly, west of Inverness.
I understand this apparently sudden push for renewables, particularly in view of the war in Ukraine and the need for this country to wean itself off Russian oil and gas. Whether I am happy for this island to be sprinkled with windturbines is another matter. I am pleased this cable was not there when the huge, 180 turbine, windfarm was proposed with turbines marching from Ness in the north, via Bragar to Stornoway. But there will still be windturbines gu leòr, detracting from the wilderness aspect of Lewis and Harris. That is not a dewy-eyed yearning for the past. That means that one of the reasons why people like to come and visit this place will be diminished. And tourism remains one of the other pillars of the islands' economy.
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