She was pleased to see Evie blush. The young woman led them along the coastal path, which climbed steeply to the top of the cliffs. ‘We’ll get a better view of the whole site from here.’ She pointed out the uninhabited islands of Samphrey and Bigga. Beyond, Yell was in the distance and the roll-on, roll-off ferry was crossing the Sound. ‘The sea’s very deep around Samphrey.’ She looked back at Hvidahus. Already the cars and the houses looked tiny. ‘We’d need to strengthen the existing pier, but we already have easy access to the water and there’s a tremendous tidal stream at this point.’

‘Won’t there be problems with the planners? I thought this was a Site of Special Scientific Interest.’ Rhona wanted to show that she’d done her homework too.

‘There won’t be any substantial development. There’s already a building close to the site that could be adapted for the substation.’ Joe Sinclair pointed in the distance to a low stone shed crumbling into disrepair, which squatted on short grass inland from a shingle bank beyond the pier. Rhona looked, but she was already losing interest. Evie was still talking, but Rhona found her list of kilowatts and depths and tide speeds boring. She was more interested in the strategic decisions.

‘It used to be a salmon hatchery,’ Evie said. ‘So officially it already has an industrial use. And we’re not talking a major development. Just an experimental project to check the feasibility at this stage. We’ll walk down that way and I’ll show you.’

‘They’ll need to put in a road to the substation. And improve that to the pier.’ The Fiscal was arguing for its own sake now. Because it was expected of her. Really, she didn’t care. ‘I assume the turbines are substantial pieces of kit.’

But she saw that the scheme might work. Shetland had the confidence to see through grand designs.

‘I’m already putting together funding bids,’ Evie said. ‘There are still grants available for renewable projects. And the Power of Water community programme has already raised a decent sum. We’ll pull in more small investors, when folk start to see that it might become a reality.’

‘I hear there’s an action group, lobbying to prevent the scheme.’

Evie was dismissive. ‘A couple of Nimbys who live in the White House, and a handful of their friends. No real opposition.’

Joe had started walking back down the path towards the hatchery. Perhaps he thought it was more tactful to leave the women together to sort out their differences.