Community
East Kintyre Windfarms
There are a number of wind farm developments in East Kintyre which are having, and will continue to have an impact on the community of East Kintyre.
The East Kintyre Community wishes to build strong, positive relationships with developers of approved wind farms to ensure the future economic viability of the area. There are two routes which can make this happen - Community Shared Ownership in local wind farms, and genuine, transparent Community Benefit Funds delivered directly to the community.
To find out the latest wind farm development news for Kintyre check out the Kintyre Wind website.
Community Benefit Funds
"Community benefits offer an opportunity for communities to benefit from their local renewable energy resource by engaging them in discussions to build a lasting relationship with the renewables industry that supports Scotland’s transition to a low carbon future". Scottish Government
Community benefits schemes are a well-established, integral part of renewable energy developments, and often represent a positive relationship between renewable energy businesses and communities. They are voluntary arrangements offered by renewable energy businesses to communities located near developments, and are not a material consideration in a planning application. The Good Practice Principles for Community Benefits was launched in April 2019; a valuable tool for renewable energy businesses, communities, local authorities and other stakeholders involved in the development of renewable energy.
East Kintyre community groups looking to apply for grants for projects from the local Windfarm Community Benefit Funds should check out the following sections on criteria, how and when to apply:
East Kintyre Windfarm Trust
The East Kintyre Windfarm Trust was established in 2001, by Argyll & Bute Windfarm and Renewable Trust, to disburse Community Benefits from the first windfarms to impact on the East Kintyre Community Council area.
Currently, the trust receives about £56,000 a year in benefits from the Beinn an Tuirc 1 & 2, Deucheran Hill and Tangy 2 Windfarms.
East Kintyre Community Fund
The East Kintyre Community Fund has been set up to enable the distribution of Community Funds from windfarms and other sources to community groups and organisations in East Kintyre. It is intended that all future Community Benefits from windfarms and other sources will be channelled into this fund along with revenues generated by Community Shared Ownership in renewable developments that impact on East Kintyre. Funds from Beinn an Tuirc 3 Windfarm and MOWI Scotland are currently included.
Cour Community Fund
Cour Windfarm was commissioned in 2016 (energised in March 2017) and has 10 turbines, with total nominal power of 20.5MW.
The Cour Community Fund is a fund (benefit size is £102,500 per year) that has been established to support the communities local to the wind farm and is administered by FERN Community Funds . East Kintyre is one of three community council areas to benefit from the fund.
Community Shared Ownership (CSO)
"Shared ownership can help promote stronger relationships between local communities and the renewables sector, and deliver lasting economic and social benefits to communities across Scotland. " Scottish Government
East Kintyre Renewable Energy Group (EKREG) was formed in 2019 and tasked by Carradale Community Trust with researching new and/or proposed renewable energy developments that will impact on East Kintyre. The primary aim of the group is to highlight the socio-economic implications of such developments and maximise income to the community from agreed developments.
Due to windfarm developments impacting all Kintyre Community Council areas, EKREG Ltd soon took the lead to explore CSO opportunities on behalf of all the Kintyre Community Council areas. Kintyre Wind represents a collaborative project involving Community Councils across Kintyre and EKREG Ltd to facilitate and deliver Community Shared Ownership (CSO) to the Kintyre communities.
