Submitted by Bill Fernie
14th July 2026
If you've tried to follow the stream of major energy projects proposed for Caithness over the past few years, you could be forgiven for feeling overwhelmed.
There are wind farms, battery storage facilities, substations, transmission lines, converter stations, worker accommodation, harbour improvements and new electricity infrastructure. Each arrives with its own planning application, consultation events, environmental reports and technical documents that can run to hundreds or even thousands of pages.
For many people, keeping up with it all has become almost a full-time job.
Yet when I speak to local people, I often hear much simpler questions than those debated in lengthy planning reports.
"How many jobs will it create?"
"Will local firms get any work?"
"Will it lower our electricity bills?"
"What does Caithness actually gain from all this?"
Those are perfectly reasonable questions, but they can sometimes seem to disappear beneath discussions about landscape impact, ecology, traffic movements and planning policy.
Looking at One Project at a Time
Every major development is considered on its own merits.
That is how the planning system is designed to work.
A battery storage project is assessed separately from a new substation. A transmission line is judged independently of a workers' village. Each has its own environmental assessment and consultation process.
That approach is fair in one sense, but it can make it difficult for local people to see the bigger picture.
Many residents are not looking at one application. They are looking at dozens.
A Much Bigger Transformation
Taken together, these projects tell a much larger story.
Caithness is becoming one of the most important parts of Britain's future electricity network.
Electricity generated offshore and across the north of Scotland has to be transmitted south. That requires new substations, upgraded transmission lines, converter stations, battery storage and other supporting infrastructure.
In that context, individual planning applications are not isolated developments. They are pieces of a much larger national strategy.
That raises an interesting question.
Once governments have decided that Britain's electricity grid must be expanded to meet future energy needs, how much freedom remains to reject individual pieces of that network?
That is not a criticism of the planning system. It is simply recognising that local decisions increasingly sit within national policy.
Was the Direction Already Set?
The approval of the large workers' village in Thurso illustrated this point.
The accommodation was proposed because developers anticipated that hundreds of construction workers would be needed over several years for multiple infrastructure projects.
It did not guarantee that every project would be approved.
However, it did indicate considerable confidence that a substantial programme of work was expected to go ahead.
That inevitably led some local people to wonder whether the overall direction had already been decided, with individual planning inquiries focusing more on how projects should be delivered rather than whether they should happen at all.
It is a fair question to ask, even if there is no simple answer.
The Questions People Really Want Answered
Reading objections to planning applications often gives the impression that environmental issues dominate local opinion.
Those concerns are important and deserve careful consideration.
But they are not always the questions raised in everyday conversations.
Many people simply want to know whether the developments will leave Caithness better off.
Will local contractors benefit?
Will apprenticeships be created?
Will young people find skilled jobs that encourage them to stay?
Will local shops, hotels and suppliers gain additional business?
Will communities receive meaningful investment?
And perhaps the biggest question of all:
If Caithness is helping to power Britain, will Caithness itself share fairly in the rewards?
Consultation Fatigue
There is another issue that deserves more attention.
Many people have reached what might be called consultation fatigue.
Every few months another exhibition opens, another planning portal goes live and another invitation arrives asking for comments on another technical report.
For those with jobs, families or caring responsibilities, reading hundreds of pages of planning documents simply is not realistic.
As a result, many residents understandably disengage from the process altogether.
That does not necessarily mean they support or oppose the projects. It often means they no longer feel they have the time or expertise to take part effectively.
Looking Beyond Individual Applications
Perhaps the time has come to look beyond individual planning applications and ask a broader question.
Instead of debating each battery storage site, each transmission line or each substation separately, should there be a clearer public discussion about the overall future of Caithness as an energy region?
What does success actually look like?
How many long-term jobs are expected?
How much private investment will follow?
What improvements can local communities realistically expect over the next twenty years?
Those are questions that deserve straightforward answers.
Finally
Few would dispute that Britain needs a reliable electricity network as demand grows and renewable generation expands.
Equally, few would argue that communities hosting major national infrastructure should simply accept development without understanding what it means for their future.
Planning decisions will always involve balancing national needs with local impacts.
But perhaps the biggest issue facing Caithness is no longer any single planning application.
It is whether local people feel they are partners in one of Britain's biggest energy transformations—or simply spectators watching decisions unfold around them.
As more projects come forward over the next decade, that may prove to be the most important question of all.