FEATURE SPONSOR
FOCUS ON EDINBURGH
UNLOCKING POTENTIAL FOR COMMUNITIES
While in the debate surrounding renewable energy development, the focus is usually on cost in its broadest sense, there is often less focus on the concept of benefit and the range of possible ways in which renewable energy development can be said to ‘benefit’ the population.
MONEY MATTERS The principle that ‘money matters’ is paramount in assessments of cost and of benefit – can, in financial terms, the cost of development be supported through its construction phase in a way which allows the full benefit of the project to be realised through sales of the power generated?
This question offers a very narrow definition of ‘benefit’. Turcan Connell have been involved in numerous projects which demonstrate the broader and more diverse ways in which renewable energy projects can be tailored to ‘benefit’ both the local and broader population.
SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT SET OF PRINCIPLES In April, the Scottish Government published a fresh set of principles designed to maximise community benefit from onshore renewable energy developments. The key principle is the promotion of an index-linked rate of £5,000 per MW/year for community benefit.
The commitment from the Scottish Government is welcome and timely – focusing attention on the broader context in which the renewables industry operates.
Developments run wholly by community bodies rightly deserve enormous credit, however such developments are relatively few in number. The majority of schemes where community benefits are provided are commercial schemes where elements or percentages of revenue are ring-fenced for use locally. While cleaner air, reduction
in carbon emissions and more secure energy supplies are laudable benefits in themselves, it is at the more tangible local benefits created by revenue kept and invested within the local community that the Scottish Government’s commitment is perhaps aimed.
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT While examples of community involvement from renewable energy developers are common – 10k road races around windfarm sites are now a regular feature of the amateur running calendar – exceptional projects such as the celebrated Allt Dearg Community wind farm (which generated £130,000 for a local community trust in its first nine months of operation) are less common.
For family businesses, developers and community bodies looking to provide funding for local investment, the mechanisms by which this can be achieved are many and varied. Structured share ownership, bespoke dividend payment schemes and loan of generation income all provide routes to establish the long-term security of the community funding.
WHERE THERE IS A WILL, THERE IS A WAY While project finance developments will require revenue to repay bank debt, community contributions can be included and ring-fenced from the outset. Where there is a will to provide regular and secured community benefit from the commissioning of a development, there is a way.
Andrew S Fairlie Associate & Head of Construction and Projects
Turcan Connell
Click to view more info = Click to view video
www.windenergynetwork.co.uk
85
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100