Since the 1990s, more than £200 million of community benefit funding has been awarded from wind farms and hydro projects to those living in their shadow.
Yet with so much money flowing into small, often rural communities, some struggle to decide how best to spend it.
Is it too much money … or not enough?
Campaign group Scotland Against Spin argues that the funding does not compensate for the downsides of renewable infrastructure particularly for those directly in its shadow.
Spokesperson Aileen Jackson, who lives in East Renfrewshire, describes the “visual blight”, property devaluation, and the stress of noise and aviation lights from turbines.
“We were told to buy blackout curtains,” she says. “And never knowing when the noise will start or stop is stressful.”
She says the sums involved are “anything but huge” compared with developer profits.
“The average is £5,000 per megawatt, although some don’t even offer that. “Taking inflation into account it should be closer to £12,000. To be blunt, developers are ripping us off.”
She adds: “Only communities benefit from community benefit funds, not the people who are living in the properties right beside the turbines, such as myself.
“We receive absolutely nothing for all the negative impacts and the
depreciation in property value. We are the collateral damage.
“Some developers are now offering cheap electricity to those living nearby to bribe people into accepting turbines closer and closer to their houses.
“Some might have their heads turned by the 30 pieces of silver but for the people who really care about their environment and the wildlife which are being swept aside, it is of little comfort.” https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/25495140.windfarm-spending-spree-rural-scotland-splashes/?fbclid=IwY2xjawNGVqpleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHgW3rPS4jxf2RYBEFLWoFmH5oHwOMV7t0cFHdHoFToIJpXq_je6DfC-0TcNl_aem_FdmjdkZMrreI_v7WmmN71g
0 Comments