The Small Wind Co-op is seeking to raise £1.4 million to build two 100kW
community-owned farm-scale wind projects in Scotland which come
pre-approved for the government feed-in tariff subsidy.
The local community energy investment opportunity inviting people to
support two small farm wind turbines at Kellybank Farm in Wemyss Bay is
being launched later today at Inverkip Marina in Inverclyde.
The Small Wind Co-op is being launched by Sharenergy which offers people
the chance to invest in the two Kellybank wind turbines and a second farm
wind project in mid-Wales – the first time a community energy project has
brought together farm-scale wind projects in different countries within the UK.
As well as offering investors a return of between 4.5% and 6.5%, the
project will generate a community fund of £3,000 a year (index-linked) for
20 years to support local projects bringing social, economic and
environmental benefits to the communities of Skelmorlie, Inverkip and
Wemyss Bay.
Kellybank is a small farm in Inverclyde, overlooking Bute. With a small
head of quality beef cattle, it is run by retired milkman Alister McIntyre,
with the goal of having a going concern for his family to take over.
He said: “We already have one small turbine on the farm and we felt it
would be good for the community, good for us all, if we made use of land
that wasn’t doing a lot at present. We’re using the resource we’ve got,
and that’s wind, and it will always be windy here.”
Shrewsbury-based Sharenergy has helped set up over 30 community energy
projects throughout the UK.
Leila Sharland, Community Renewables Adviser, at Sharenergy said: “We know
that people don’t trust the big energy companies, which is why we are a
small co-operative, which is completely owned and run by our members – no
‘fat cats’ here.
“And we know that people want to support renewable energy in the UK
directly – so we set up the Small Wind Co-op to make that possible.”
With a minimum investment of £100, the Co-op is offering two types of
investment:
Bonds, which have a return of 4.5% and will be repaid after six years; and
Shares, which offer a projected average annual return of 6.5 % over 20
years and entitle people to become members of the co-operative and have a
say in how it’s run.
Thanks to the Personal Savings Allowance, for most people the returns will
be tax free.
People opting to invest through community shares and join the cooperative
will also have– the chance to use the electricity they generate themselves,
by signing up to Co-operative Energy for their energy supply.
Sharland added: “Of course, we can’t plug the turbines directly into your
house. And it is difficult to sell electricity directly to our members. But
we’ll be selling it to Co-operative Energy and if you sign up with them you
can specify that you want to get your supply from our turbines. This is a
first for community energy in the UK.”
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