What are Community Benefits?  

Community benefits are voluntary packages of benefits (often in the form of funds but may also include other benefits) that renewable energy businesses provide to support communities. These offer an opportunity for communities to work with renewable energy businesses for the long-term benefit of the community.  As of February 2025, community benefits of around £30 million per year are estimated across all renewable energy projects in Scotland. These are used to support a diverse range of activities and deliver tangible benefits to the lives of people across Scotland. Case studies are available on our website.  

Local Energy Scotland have a register of community benefits, which is an online map and list showing the community benefits committed across Scotland. This covers different types of onshore and offshore renewable generation. The register demonstrates greater transparency in how funds are managed and spent, as the information on there is freely available and can be downloaded, filtered and searched in meaningful ways that will allow you as a member of the public to examine the impacts of community benefits in Scotland’s communities. The register is updated by renewable energy developers, project owners and fund administrators on a voluntary basis and is therefore not available for all projects. The accuracy of the register relies on information being uploaded regularly and accurately from these sources.  More information about the register is available on our website.   

What is Shared Ownership?  

Shared Ownership is distinct, separate and is encouraged in addition to community benefits packages and is defined in the Scottish Government’s Good Practice Principles as “any structure which involves a community group as a financial partner over the lifetime of a renewable energy project”. Shared Ownership projects can take many forms, but the three most common are: joint ventures, shared revenue, and split ownership. More information on these can be found in our shared ownership resource.  

Local Energy Scotland also maintain a register of shared ownership, showing where shared ownership has been offered on projects across Scotland.