51³Ô¹ÏÃâ·ÑApp

Sarah Moorcroft from Carradale submitted the following question, which was read out by the Committee Manager:-

I refer to the recent BBC news article entitled the Kintyre Windfarms ‘gold rush’

The article refers to the siting and planned sitings of large Windfarms across the whole of Kintyre, and highlights the deal that has been made between the Windfarms operators and the global giant Amazon, providing Amazon with fixed rate electricity. 

I quote from the article

Scottish Power Renewables signed what is known as a power purchase agreement for Beinn an Tuirc 3 with Amazon. It means that all the power generated at the 14-turbine wind farm belongs to the giant US corporation. The deal also means that Amazon benefits from a fixed price for the duration of its 10-year deal with SPR.

During this time of extreme financial hardship, with massive increases in electricity prices, and with families across Kintyre having to make decisions about how to prioritise food or heating for their families, does the council consider that it is fair, that electricity generated on the Kintyre peninsula is being used to support a rich multinational organisation over and above the people who live and work on Kintyre? What support is being given by the council to help local communities negotiate with these energy suppliers, so that local people can benefit from local and reduced tariff electricity powered by Kintyre winds. The people of Kintyre need access both to locally generated electricity similar to the 20% ownership schemes in Denmark,  business skills to assist with complicated negotiations with multinationals, and support with lobbying the Scottish Parliament for a fair share of renewable energy generated on local soil. 

Can the council outline how they are supporting Kintyre in this area?

The Committee Manager advised on a response from Fergus Murray, Head of Economic Development as follows:-

The council determines the suitability, or otherwise, of on shore wind developments through the planning system.  Windfarms over 50MW are determined through the section 36 process by the Scottish Government with the council consulted on to provide a local view.  Wind farms under 50MW are determined by the council as a Planning Authority. 

Private funding arrangements with the developers of on shore wind farms and third parties are not a matter the council has any jurisdiction on.  Developers have to go down these routes to obtain the necessary finance to develop their schemes. Without access to this type of funding on shore wind was/is unlikely to be viable although the market is constantly changing depending on the price of electricity and Government subsidy.  A key issue considered by the council when determining the suitability of a wind farm or otherwise is the impact on local communities and the landscape.  This has resulted in a number of refusals being given and we also look at cumulative impacts. 

It should be noted that not all the profit from these farms leave 51³Ô¹ÏÃâ·ÑApp and Bute. Most companies have developed community benefit schemes that give back to communities and in Kintyre the latest scheme through Scottish Power Renewables distributes circa £270k split between 3 Kintyre community councils.  We also have the example of Glen Barr a wind farm developed by Fyne Futures and of course Gigha which was one of the first community owned wind farms. Other commercial windfarms give discounted energy to neighbours including in Kintyre and other benefits some give nothing apart from the jobs during construction and maintenance.

The Scottish Government has encouraged communities to buy into wind farms but the raising of finance to achieve this  has proved problematic and I am not aware of this been achieved in Scotland albeit I do not have detailed information on this at this time. This is something to check with the Government.

The council has prepared a Renewable Energy Action Plan and created a community renewables opportunity portal to assist communities in negotiating with developers.  It should be noted that contributions are entirely voluntary in Scotland and there is no requirement to have community benefits through the planning process.  Our ability to do more for communities is limited due to the need for budget savings and the reduction of ABRA meetings as a direct result of this.

Given the power to compel companies to go down certain routes lies with both the UK and Scottish Governments the council will have to determine if it wants to go down that route, or not. The situation is made more complex with the urgent need to reach net zero which will require additional renewable energy at a price that is affordable to consumers.

It should be noted that the council is working with Naturescot to see if a coordinated approach to the further development of on shore wind Kintyre is feasible.  An approach to the Scottish Government for funding to assist this process was recently rejected.  Alternative funding sources are being looked at to take this forward and this will include  direct approaches to established operators of wind farms. 

Community Renewables Opportunity Portal (argyll-bute.gov.uk)

There were no other questions received.