Community Windpower is proud to have donated £6.5 million to its local and host communities. We are committed to maintaining strong working relationships with the local host communities, to provide community benefits that have economic, social and environmental benefits.
We have explored a number of options for community assets and funding as part of the community benefits programme. More details on the community benefits for Faw Side Community Wind Farm can be found in the Commitment To Communities report, here .
£255,000 Covid-19 Crisis Fund
Community Windpower responded to the ongoing Covid-19 crisis by making £255,000 of funds available to local communities in or near our seven wind farms.
We’re working with our teams at BeGreen Dunbar and Dalry, along with various community councils and the Dalry Parish Boundary Trust, to ensure funds are made available to organisations who need it most.
The financial support is through both money diverted from wind farm community benefit funds and directly from Community Windpower itself.
Diane Wood, community benefits director at Community Windpower, said: “We’re living in worrying and unprecedented times for everyone, and now is the time we need to dig deep and help people in communities that are being negatively impacted by this crisis."
We work closely with communities to deliver on our promise to make positive
social, economic and environmental change over the lifetime of our wind farms.
Below you can find some examples of what we have accomplished with our host communities in other areas.
Girl Guiding Activity Centre, Dalry
In 2018, the new regional activity centre at the Blair Girl Guiding site in Dalry was completed. Community Windpower provided the single largest donation of £100,000 to the project. The new activity centre will provide an extension to the existing site.
Scout Hall, Dalry
Expected to be finished in late 2020, Community Windpower is proud to be the primary investors (£120,000) of the new Dalry Scout Hall. The new scout hall will be the home to the 55th Dalry Scout Group and also act as village hub.
BeGreen, Dunbar
The BeGreen Dunbar Energy Advice Centre, opened in 2008, receives funding from Aikengall Community Wind Farm. So far BeGreen Dunbar has donated over £1m to the local area; to schools and community groups along with solar grants and household energy saving renovations.
Ranger Pete
Ranger Pete provides the link between the community and the benefits programme through Dalry (Wardlaw Wood) Community Wind Farm. He liaises with local schools, providing educational talks and activities on the environment and climate change. Pete also works with the Dalry Parish Boundary Trust, to distribute the community benefit fund from the Millour Hill Community Wind Farms.
West College Scotland
Community Windpower has established a long-term partnership with West College Scotland. Community Windpower have offered student placements for West College Scotland for eight years, allowing students to gain work experience in the onshore wind industry.
Upper Nithsdale Community Trust
CWL were the first to make a significant contribution to the Upper Nithsdale Community Trust in 2018. The trust manages the community benefit fund from our Sanquhar Community Wind Farm on behalf of two Community Councils; Kelloholm and Kirkconnel and the Royal Burgh of Sanquhar and District.
Projects supported by the trust’s use of our community benefit fund include charitable, educational, community environmental, renewable energy, energy efficiency, sustainable development and general community amenity, whether capital or revenue.
