A community in a small town south of Glasgow says it has made Scottish renewable energy history by securing funding for what it claims will be the country’s first subsidy-free, 100% locally owned large wind turbine.
UK developer Thrive Renewables announced today (Tuesday) that the project is set to go ahead after it committed £4m ($4.9m) in investment.
Social Investment Scotland has invested a further £1.6m as part of a “blended finance package.” The Scottish government has supported the project with funding through its planning and design phase.
The turbine near the town of Kilbirnie will be wholly owned by the local community. Profits from electricity sales will be reinvested back into local causes such as local sports and recreational facilities and the refurbishment of a community centre.
The turbine is already under construction and is expected to be completed by the end of next year.
It will have an operational capacity of 2.5MW and could power around 2,200 homes. That would constitute a sizable chunk of the population of Kilbirnie, which has around 7,000 residents.
The funding for the turbine has gone to ATTIX Community Interest Company, which was established by Radio City Association, the charity behind the project, to develop renewable energy assets in Garnock Valley, where Kilbirnie is based.
Matthew Clayton, managing director of Thrive Renewables, said the project is a “brilliant example of passion and perseverance that will bring tangible benefits to the people living in the Garnock Valley including a new revenue stream, local green jobs and an active role in tackling the climate emergency.”
Allan Wilson, Secretary of Radio City Association and a former Scottish deputy minister for minister for environment and rural development from 2001 to 2004, said the project will promote “sustainability and energy self-reliance” in the community.
The Scottish government has set a target of 2GW of renewable energy to be community or locally owned by 2030. To support this, it set up its Community and Renewable Energy Scheme in 2010 to encourage local and community ownership of renewable energy projects.
Radio City Association continues to develop its wider “Electric Valley” project, working with Scottish Water to develop a small-scale hydro site that will also feed profits back into the local community.
