Stoura, an old Shetland word for windy and for wide open space, has been selected as the new name for the ESB’s 500MW floating wind farm off the coast of the Scottish islands.
Stoura Wind Farm replaces the old name of Sealtainn after a contest held about all Shetland primary school children.
Entries were judged by four locals with confirmation from an expert that the winning name is in 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 said, and it had “matched this generosity” with a donation of its own..
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 Shetland dialect has both Nordic and Scottish roots and is a valued and essential element of Shetland's distinctive heritage and culture – with Tammie Norrie, for instance, the name for a puffin.
Spelling and interpretation of words can vary across the islands, and more details are here