Abstract
Aquatera was commissioned by the Point and Sandwick Development Trust (PSDT) to provide a high-level economic comparison between the financial return associated with community owned wind turbines and private wind farms in Scotland, together with case studies.
It is well established that local ownership is much more beneficial to communities as opposed to hosting a private wind farm due to the corresponding local and collective benefits (Waal, 2020). However, the objective of this Report is to highlight through case studies, where possible, the degree local communities stand to benefit (on a £ per installed MW per annum basis) in comparison to a community hosting a private wind farm.
The analysis contained within this Report will focus on data obtained directly from community owned wind farms, accounts information lodged with Companies House and publicly available community benefit payment information (such as the data held by Local Energy Scotland). These data sets, in respect of community owned wind farms, will then be
used to calculate the benefit to their respective communities on a £ per installed MW per annum basis which will allow a comparison with their privately owned counterparts to take place.
The Report sets out:
- Preliminary points on methodology – this section of the Report will detail key terms used within the Report, provide context to the community benefit landscape, explain why certain topics have been excluded from the analysis and detail the assumptions that have been made
- Private wind farms and community benefit payments – this will detail the historical development of community benefit payments, discuss the recommended level of community benefit by the Scottish Government and include case studies on selected private wind farms;
- Case studies will focus on the community benefits paid by the following private wind farms:
- Ben Aketil
- Edinbane
- Spurness
- Allt Dearg
- Case studies will focus on the community benefits paid by the following private wind farms:
- Community owned wind farms and the funds available for reinvestment into the local economy – this section focuses on the variables associated with funds produced by community owned wind farms which make a direct comparison with community benefit payments difficult, the need to look at the financial performance data available on Companies House and include case studies on selected community owned wind farms:
- Case studies will focus on the funds available for reinvestment in the local economy from the following community owned wind farms:
- Tiree
- Westray
- Case studies will focus on the funds available for reinvestment in the local economy from the following community owned wind farms:
- Comparison of the financial benefits of selected community owned wind farms and privately owned wind farms – information gathered from the case studies in the following sections together with further financial data (predominantly from community owned wind farms) will be collated and analysed on a comparative basis. Through this comparative analysis, the degree to which community owned wind farms benefit their community in comparison to a community hosting a privately owned wind farm will be established.
- Summary