Community Ownership – groundbreaking offer

At Belltown Power we fundamentally believe that renewable energy projects should benefit the communities that host them. We offer a groundbreaking Community Ownership scheme that can bring tangible benefits to the heart of the community through the revenue generated by owning a stake in a renewable energy project. This includes:

• Working with - or setting up - an Incorporated Entity that is run and owned by the community;
• Giving that Entity 1% of the project ownership for free and offering the opportunity to buy a further 4% at cost, once the project is operational (plus more at market rate if desired). There are various sources of community funding for this; and
• Helping to support the community through this process via Local Energy Scotland, an independent body that administers and manages the Scottish Government’s Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES).

Local Community Councils and Kintyre Wind have expressed a strong interest in Community Ownership.  As the project progresses we will continue to engage with these groups to establish how the community wants to take an ownership stake, how the scheme will operate and how the community can best benefit from this opportunity.

Please do get in touch if you would like to know more.

Community Benefit

In addition to this attractive ownership offering, we are committed to providing £5,000/MW (index linked) Community Benefit for the lifetime of the project. Depending on a community's need this could be part or wholly front loaded to support larger projects. 

Electricity Discount Scheme

In our first round of consultation energy bills were identified as a key concern among local residents. Therefore we propose that a significant portion of community benefit be used to provide an Electricity Discount Scheme (EDS) to local residents and businesses.

We would like your feedback on this proposed EDS, particularly on the extent of EDS Zone 3 and whether all the Community Benefit Fund (£5,000 per MW) should be allocated to the scheme. If all the Community Benefit Fund was used for an EDS then approximately 7000 properties (1) could receive Electricity Discount over the lifetime of the Project (2). Any Community Benefit Funds not used for an EDS would be used for other community projects. The proposed EDS would offer the following:

• ZONE 1: £500 Per year Electricity discount for properties within 2.5km
• ZONE 2: £250 Per year Electricity discount for properties within 5km
• ZONE 3: £150 - £100 Per year Electricity discount for properties within the wider area                                             

1. Distances were measured from the site boundary and zones adjusted so as not to divide settlements as defined in the Local Development Plans. All EDS numbers are currently indicative only and based off 29, 6.6 MW turbines.

2. Community Benefit is index linked over the lifetime of the project.

Case Study

Near to our Tirgwynt site in Powys, Wales the Carno Primary School faced closure due to the condition of temporary buildings they were using. Due to our flexible community benefit offering we were able to substitute some of the annual payments with a larger, upfront payment which enabled the construction of a new school building allowing the local school to continue to serve the community for future generations.

Education - inspiring the next generation

We believe passionately in education and have been running the Belltown Education Programme since 2015 with the aim of inspiring the next generation of engineers, scientists and climate emergency tacklers.

Local Environment

Everyone at Belltown Power is involved in the renewable energy industry through a desire to tackle the climate crisis and nature emergency. In addition to powering over 230,000 homes and displacing over 325,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year over the life time of the project* we will implement a comprehensive and tailored Ecological Management Plan to ensure that the Cnoc Buidhe Wind Energy Hub delivers a net ecological benefit through careful habitat design, creation and management.

* Figures based on a wind energy hub comprising of 29 turbines at 6.6 MW for 35 years and recognised assumptions stated here.