A Scottish community-owned company is aiming to raise £1.75 million by
issuing bonds in the 500-kW wind turbine it owns on the A Chòigeach
peninsula north of Ullapool.
The Coigach Community plan to use the new funding will be used to refinance
the wind turbine asset and enable the company to donate its retained
profits to fund a variety of community projects.
The turbine – christened ‘Varuna’ – was commissioned in 2017 with the aim
of providing a source of new renewable energy and a regular income stream
to support the community.
Over the next 20 years, Coigach Community expects to generate surpluses of
around £4.4 million after paying operating and finance costs.
A Chòigeach parish (English: Coigach) has a declining population currently
of around 260 residents and faces many challenges common to such remote
communities including; a lack of affordable housing, decreasing levels of
health provision and a fragile economy over-reliant on the traditional
industries of crofting, fisheries and seasonal tourism.
The turbine began operating in March 2017 and benefits from the UK
government’s Feed-in-Tariff scheme which guarantees inflation protected
income for 20 years. It has generated over 800,000 kWh of clean energy to date.
Meanwhile, Mongoose Energy and Our Power have partnered to launch a new
community organisation dedicated to harnessing the power from two Scottish
community-owned wind power projects to offer cheaper electricity to those
most in need.
The wind farms – based in Pogbie, East Lothian and in Brockholes,
Berwickshire – will be seeking to raise £2.8 million to fund the projects,
across both bond and equity offers, with all surplus profits – an estimated
£1,900,000 over 25 years – invested into helping alleviate fuel poverty in
Scotland.
This effort aims to reduce the number of people who have to spend more than
10 per cent of their household income just to keep their houses heated to a
basic level.
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