Why We Sent “Local Hero” to the Chairman of Iberdrola
This week, the people of Iona sent a personalised copy of Bill Forsyth's iconic film Local Hero to Ignacio Sánchez Galán, Executive Chairman of Iberdrola, the parent company of ScottishPower Renewables which is applying to build the MachairWind wind farm.
Alongside it was an open letter inviting him to visit Iona before decisions are made on the proposed MachairWind offshore wind development.
Why Local Hero?
The film tells the story of an energy company that believes a remote Scottish community is simply another development opportunity, only to discover that some places cannot be understood through maps, reports or financial models alone.
We know the film is fiction. But the parallels could not be ignored and the its central message still resonates today.
Our letter is not simply an objection. It is an invitation.
We have asked Mr Sánchez Galán to come to Iona before decisions are made; to experience these islands, meet the people who live here, and understand what is at stake beyond the technical assessments and environmental reports.
MachairWind proposes constructing up to 91 offshore wind turbines, each approximately the height of the Eiffel Tower, in the seas surrounding Islay, Jura, Colonsay, Mull and Iona. These waters are internationally recognised for their wildlife, natural beauty and cultural significance.
We believe that where renewable energy is developed matters and is the cornerstone of a just transition to decarbonising. Responsible development requires balancing climate action with biodiversity, heritage, landscape and the communities who call these places home.
If a proposal of this scale, in a landscape as internationally recognised as the Hebrides, cannot prompt reflection at the highest level of a global energy company, it raises important questions about what corporate responsibility really means in practice.
Below is the full text of the letter sent with the film.
Open Letter to Ignacio Sánchez Galán, Executive Chairman, Iberdrola
1 August 2026
Dear Mr Sánchez Galán
We are writing on behalf of the community of Iona regarding ScottishPower Renewables' proposed MachairWind offshore wind development in the waters off our coast.
We are pleased to be delivering to you a copy of Local Hero, Bill Forsyth's iconic film, produced in 1983.
The film tells the story of an American oil company that sends an executive to a remote Scottish coastal village, confident that its acquisition to make way for an oil refinery will be a straightforward transaction. What he finds instead is a community and a landscape that cannot simply be priced and purchased, and a decision ultimately made not by boardroom logic but by one person's direct experience of the place itself.
We appreciate this is a work of fiction, made over forty years ago, and that MachairWind is a very different proposal in a different era. But we believe the film speaks to something that remains true: that the value of a place like this, to the people who live here, to the wildlife that depends on it, and to the visitors, artists and filmmakers it continues to draw from around the world, is not always visible in a planning application or a financial model.
As you know, MachairWind, as currently proposed, would construct up to 91 turbines, each around the height of the Eiffel Tower, in waters that define this coastline and our islands. We do not raise this lightly, nor do we underestimate the scale of the challenge Iberdrola and companies like it face in delivering the energy transition. We understand that difficult trade-offs are sometimes unavoidable.
But we believe those trade-offs deserve to be weighed with the fullest possible understanding of what is at stake here, and we do not believe that understanding can be gained from documents alone.
It is inconceivable to us that you would promote this project and not visit Iona personally. We therefore extend an invitation for you to come here, see for yourself what your company proposes, and listen to the people who live here.
Iona is not simply our home. It is one of Scotland's most important cultural landscapes, recognised for fifteen centuries as a place of exceptional spiritual, historical and cultural significance. Its coastlines, habitats and wildlife are protected by some of Scotland's highest environmental designations, and every year people travel from around the world because this landscape has remained remarkably unchanged.
We believe we have a responsibility not simply to ourselves, but to everyone who values Iona, and to those who will inherit it after us.
We believe that a company with Iberdrola's stated commitment to responsible, sustainable development would find such a visit valuable, and we would certainly provide you with a warm Hebridean welcome.
We hope you will take the time to watch the film, and that it might prompt the same reflection in Bilbao that its fictional executives experience on screen.
Yours sincerely,
Joanne MacInnes
On behalf of the People of Iona
Here is the beginning of the journey being made by this package from a remote farm on Iona to the Iberdrola CEO's office in Bilbao, Spain