Fintry Development Trust • a community-private energy partnership
impact Within a year, the wind energy partnership generated a £140,000 return for the village, and once the mortgage on the turbine is paid off, annual profits are estimated to rise to £400,000-£500,000 for the rest of its 25-year lifespan. The insulation project alone has saved the 800-strong community at least £90,000 a year, as well as reducing CO2 emissions by 464 tons a year. Through the fair and informal contacts, the village now also advises other communities on similar projects, and the success of this and other ventures has led the on-shore wind energy industry to create a community benefit protocol to encourage such collaborative practice.
key lessons recognising the protagonists
participation beyond consultation
A community-private partnership
Co-producing local benefits
Regulatory hurdles to self-provision
The crucial elements of this partnership were a group of proactive villagers – a mix of long-term residents and newcomers – and the developers. Initially it was the community council, despite having few formal powers and only a small budget, that formed the platform that could connect the two parties. Realising it needed local support for the proposal, Falck Renewables responded to the community’s requests, which had been clearly articulated before the planning stage. Support from the community council and the local MSP was also instrumental in this process. Beyond this, the role of the public sector has been limited. Nimbyism has been minimal – helped by the fact that the wind farm is four miles away but also by proactive communication and leadership on the issue.
It is becoming increasingly clear that wind farms may not be acceptable to localities unless proceeds and benefits are also shared locally – but how this happens is shaped by local negotiations as well as the role of national organisations such as Energy4All. A wide range of benefit models now exists across the UK, from co-operative-owned wind farms to schemes that encourage households to take an equity stake in projects in return for yearly returns, and trusts that distribute funds to local projects and groups. In the case of Fintry, the early experiences with the Development Trust have also given the community confidence and capacity to apply for grant funding to complement locally generated income for some of their activities, based on a shared direction of travel defined by the wind farm project.
Whilst the village clearly benefits from reduced energy use and shared income, it has not yet achieved its ambition to become self-reliant through a local energy services company. It had hoped that, through bulk-buying energy and reselling it locally, it could finance a collective microgeneration infrastructure but complying with existing regulations would have made such a local utilities venture too expensive. Instead, the trust employed a dedicated energy adviser who has enabled more than 20 domesticscale projects in the village, ranging from heat pumps to biomass heating systems.
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recognising where value lies