Location: Clydesdale, South Lanarkshire
MW Capacity: 245 MW
Estimated income: £1.225 million plus income from up to 10% community shared ownership per year
Commissioned: In development
Wind farm: Bodinglee Wind Farm
Developer: OnPath Energy
Structure and income
Bodinglee Wind Farm is currently awaiting a decision on planning consent. If consented, the Clydesdale Community Energy Transition Co (tentative name) will receive payments of around £1.225 million per year and additional income from their stake in the wind farm. The proportion of community shared ownership is yet to be determined but will be between 1 and 10%.*
The local community owned organisation will operate independently of the developer, giving it control over day-to-day operations and strategic decision making.
*The organisation will be gifted 1%, with the option to buy up to 10% in total. If the community does not wish to take up the ownership offer, then an enhanced benefit payment offer (above the £5,000 per MW) will be made to help fund the organisation to ensure its success.
Net zero projects
The company will provide grants for energy efficiency measures (eg insulation, draught proofing), decarbonised heating (eg replacing fossil fuel heating systems), and renewable generation technology (eg solar panels). All households in the area will be eligible.
Delivery model
The local community had past experience of a community benefit fund where grants were distributed by volunteers. They felt that this put too much pressure on the volunteers, so from the start of the Bodinglee Wind Farm consultation process, they were clear that they wanted the fund to be managed by employees.
This model will use around 20% of the community income for the every day running of the company including the creation of local jobs to manage the project.
This case is an excellent example of how the developer’s extensive support resulted in a very effective consultation process. The developers provided funding and support to the community, facilitating them to turn their initial idea into an actionable plan. They recommend that communities seek support, either from the developers or agencies such as Local Energy Scotland.
Should this project be consented it’s expected that:
- up to four local people would be employed directly by the company
- between 150-200 full-time equivalent jobs would be created in order to install the measures
- after measures are installed, it is hoped that local households will collectively save an estimated £2.4 – 4.4 million a year on their energy bills
Find out more on OnPath Energy website.
