Scotland’s first subsidy-free community wind farm powers up
Those backing is say the novel approach to funding the project provides a blueprint to finance the transition from the community level up
A single turbine in the south of Scotland hills has become the country’s first community-owned wind project to run without government subsidies.
The 2.5MW Kilbirnie wind turbine in North Ayrshire began operating this week — a development hailed as a milestone by ministers as a template for a new generation of locally controlled clean power.
Capable of generating more than 7,000 megawatt hours of electricity a year — enough to power more than 2,000 Scottish homes — the turbine is expected to cut carbon emissions by over 3,000 tonnes annually.
Those backing is say the novel approach to funding the project provides a blueprint to finance the transition from the community level up.
Critics of the mass rollout of energy infrastructure often cite large profits going to private investors and multinational companies rather than local communities who live where the developments are being built.
All profits from Kilbirnie electricity sales will flow directly into local causes through the charity Radio City Association to fund a new employment hub, training opportunities, improved transport links and upgrades to sports and recreational facilities. The charity also plans to expand its work tackling fuel poverty, including energy vouchers, electric blankets and one-to-one advice to help residents reduce bills.
“This has been a long and at times torturous journey,” said Allan Wilson, director of ATTIX CIC, the community interest company established to deliver the project.
“We have come out stronger, with a long-term asset that will pay dividends for an area too long ignored for investment.”
The turbine’s launch follows publication of the UK government’s Local Power Plan, under which Great British Energy has pledged to channel £1 billion into locally owned clean energy schemes. Ministers argue that projects such as Kilbirnie demonstrate how communities can take a direct stake in generation in a way that means they can retain the proceeds.
Michael Shanks, the UK energy minister, described the scheme as “what community energy is all about — giving people a stake in energy generation so profits go to what matters, from tackling fuel poverty to improving local sports facilities in Ayrshire”.
Gillian Martin, Scotland’s energy secretary, said the Scottish government was “proud” to have supported the development through its Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES), adding that community ventures were essential to delivering a just transition to net zero.
The £5.6 million project was assembled through a combination of social investment and institutional backing — £1.6 million from Social Investment Scotland and £4 million from Community Energy Catalyst - a £40 million facility managed by renewable energy investment company Thrive Renewables in partnership with Better Society Capital.
Additional support came via loans from the Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES), a Scottish government initiative designed to support communities in participating in the transition to net zero emissions, and grant funding from both the Scottish government and Great British Energy.
Matthew Clayton, chief executive of Thrive Renewables, said the scheme showed how communities could “add vital capacity to the grid while ensuring the benefits are felt at a local level”.
Joe Shamash of Better Society Capital called it “a big milestone for community energy in Scotland” and urged more partnerships between investors and local groups.
ATTIX, asset-locked to Radio City Association, is also advancing its wider “Electric Valley” sustainability project, including plans for a small-scale hydro site in partnership with Scottish Water. The aim is to create a portfolio of locally owned energy assets capable of underwriting regeneration in an area that has struggled with underinvestment.
Radio City Association’s Electric Valley project is the overall strategy of the charity to increase resilience of the Garnock Valley community.
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