You are not logged in.
Please register or login below

Email:

Password:

reeves hill windfarm

Community Benefits

Community benefit fund

Some of the profits from the windfarm will also be used to improve local facilities, go towards educational projects, or improve energy efficiency in the community.

This fund is usually managed by the Local Council or a specially created Community Trust. We are keen to hear your ideas regarding how the community benefit fund should be spent - please click here to get in touch, write to us, or tell us at the exhibition.

Each year for the next 25 years, the local community would benefit to the tune of £10,000 per turbine, for every turbine on the site, if the project is consented at committee. This means that the benefits available to the community will be £40,000 every year for 25 years, making a total of £1 million! This is of course in addition to the opportunity for local people to own a share in one of the turbines, which will be made available for community ownership.

Environmental fund a sum of £10,000 p.a. for the first ten years of the project's life time and £5.000 p.a for the next five years will be made available for various works of environmental enhancement within 5km of the site.

Government thinking? "That is why it is Conservative policy to allow communities that choose to host wind farms to keep the business rates they generate for six years. We are also examining how community ownership of wind turbines can be introduced, as on the continent, and how discounted electricity can be available to communities in the vicinity of wind farms. This is the sort of fresh thinking that will be required to increase acceptance of wind farms."*
*Source: Consents for Wind Farms, House of Commons Library, Science & Environment Section, 14th July 2010.
http://www.parliament.uk/briefingpapers/commons/lib/research/briefings/snsc-04370.pdf

What this could mean for local communities:
A single 2.3MW wind turbine, operating at 27% load factor, will attract a rateable value of £57,000 per annum at 2010 business rates (multiplier of 41.4p/£)*. This equates to £21,114 per annum, per wind turbine. So a small four turbine wind farm would bring in over £500,000 to the local community in the first 6 years.
*Source: Valuation Office Agency

Community ownership If the scheme is consented, Energy4All will have the option to purchase one of the turbines and will then offer members of the local community the opportunity to buy shares in this turbine. These local investors would therefore benefit financially from the sale of the electricity that this turbine generates.