The village of Fintry with its wind farm in the distance. Inset: the
villagers take ‘ownership’ of a turbine back in 2007, signing their names
on the base.
This week some 2500 world leaders, CEOs of multinationals, academics and
other assorted grandees descended on the little town of Davos in
Switzerland for the annual World Economic Forum (WEF). The chosen theme for
this year’s gathering is Globalisation 4.0 – the fourth wave of
globalisation, characterised by digitally-enabled services.
Among other waves of change this will bring, it’s hoped that Globalisation
4.0 will help counter climate change and, according to the WEF’s Klaus
Schwab, create a world of private-private partnerships that guide the free
market to create economic growth, sustainability and social benefits.
These are laudable aspirations – but perhaps rather remote to those of us
not currently being fêted in an alpine resort. Closer to home, Climate for
Change partner Low Carbon Scotland emphasises in the article below that a
sustainable future cannot be delivered by government alone and that
“partnerships between all sectors are vital in overcoming the challenges
and in discovering new opportunities to help create a better future that we
all want for Scotland”.
As Paul Wheelhouse, Minster for Energy, Connectivity and the Islands
pointed out in a report published by Friends of the Earth Scotland, shared
ownership of renewable energy is an important example of partnership
between industry and local communities that supports community development,
low carbon energy generation and – importantly – the local economy.
The Scottish Government wants 50% of all renewable energy projects to
include an element of shared ownership by 2020 in addition to the 1GW
target for community and locally produced energy and – among other
developments – in 2017 gave the green light to the 50-turbine South Kyle
Wind Farm, allowing Swedish energy company Vattenfall to accelerate
discussions with communities in East Ayrshire and north Galloway, offering
them a right to buy up to 5% in the £190m, 170MW project.
Vattenfall announced that it will provide a community benefit fund of
£5,000 per MW installed per year over the South Kyle’s operational lifetime
and 150 local businesses initially registered their interest.
Planning a wind farm and gaining consent doesn’t ensure a rapid result
though: Guy Mortimer, Vattenfall’s head of development said that while the
decision was good news for climate change targets there was a “long way to
go” before the farm was operational. The proposals had gone to a public
inquiry in 2015 after an initial application two years earlier and the
project was in planning for a total of four years. But there is clearly a
growing interest in shared ownership of renewable energy, with proposals
and projects now including Spurness in Orkney, Millennium South Windfarm in
the hills north of Invergarry, Donich Hydro near Lochgoilhead and as far
south as Crossdykes Wind Farm in Dumfries and Galloway.
And they’ve now established a proven record. The community of Fintry
between the Campsie Fells and the Fintry Hills was the pioneer when back in
2003 it began exploring options that led to it buying into the nearly
Earlsburn Wind Farm, asking the commercial developer to provide an
additional ‘community turbine’ to the planned 14.
Fintry Renewable Energy Enterprise Limited (FREE) entered a joint venture
agreement with Falck Renewables, the first partnership of its kind in the
UK, then formed Fintry Development Trust (FDT) which is governed by a board
of local residents.
The Trust has now been running for over ten years and in that time has
earned around £750,000 from the relationship with Earlsburn Windfarm. This
money has been used to fund and facilitate a wide variety of
energy-focussed initiatives in the community such as handing householders
grants for carbon-reducing measures, providing an outdoor classroom and
solar panels for Fintry Primary School, installing a woodchip-fuelled
district heating scheme for 25 homes, trialing a rural car and cycle club
and securing staff to provide energy advice and manage the individual
initiatives.
The Trust continues to develop pioneering energy saving projects, such as a
ground source district heating system for 19 more homes in 2019.
While it was heartening to see Sir David Attenborough being interviewed by
Prince William in Davos asking for the best advice to his generation on
saving the planet from environmental catastrophe, it is equally reassuring
that such high-profile efforts are underpinned by a growing network of
productive partnerships in rural Scotland.
The Herald’s Climate for Change initiative supports efforts being made by
the Scottish Government with key organisations and campaign partners.
Throughout the year we will provide a forum in The Herald newspaper, online
at herald.scotland.com and in Business HQ magazine, covering news and
significant developments in this increasingly crucial area.
If you are interested in contributing editorially or interested in becoming
a Climate for Change
partner, please contact Stephen McTaggart on 0141 302 6137 or email
0 Comments