ESB announce new name for Shetland offshore wind farm following local school competition

ESB, the Irish energy company, is today announcing the new name for its 500MW floating wind farm off the coast of Shetland. The project will now be called – Stoura Wind Farm – which replaces the old name of Sealtainn.

The name Stoura is, in the words of the competition winner, “an old Shetland word which has two meanings. Firstly, it can mean windy. It can also mean wide open space.” The name is used for several local landmarks including Stoura Stack, a sea stack in the Out Skerries islands, the closest part of Shetland to the proposed wind farm.

The naming competition was held among all Shetland primary school children from September 19th to October 8th. Entries were judged by four locals with confirmation from an expert that the winning name is Shetland Dialect. The overall winner, who attends Bells Brae Primary School in Lerwick, has generously decided to share the £1,250 prize fund with their classmates and a local charity. The ESB have matched this generosity with a donation of their own.

Cian Desmond, Project Director for Stoura Wind Farm, commented: "We were blown away by the quality of entries from the young Shetlanders. This made the task of selecting an overall winner very difficult. In the end, we are delighted with the name Stoura which has strong links to the local landscape, Shetland Dialect and the windy, exposed nature of the site."

The Shetland Dialect has both Nordic and Scottish roots and is a valued and essential element of Shetland's distinctive heritage and culture. As a primarily spoken language, the spelling and interpretation of words can vary across the islands. For those interested in learning more about Shetland Dialect and hearing samples of how it is spoken, visit: https://www.shetlanddialect.org.uk/