🧵 REVEALED: Community energy projects in Scotland are generating 100x more local wealth than privately-owned wind farms.
But just 0.5% of the renewable power is community-owned. Why this staggering imbalance?
But just 0.5% of the renewable power is community-owned. Why this staggering imbalance?
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This is one of the many reasons why we ask if UK councils are supporting local community owned renewable projects as part of our Scorecards, see more here: https://councilclimatescorecards.uk/question/s1_b_h_q12/ and check out the latest results when they come out on 17th June!
https://www.energyvoice.com/renewables-energy-transition/573340/community-renewable-energy-ownership-scotland/
Their community turbine, “Tilley,” is 1% the size of a nearby corporate wind farm, but it returns 100x more economic value to the island.
It generates 90x more wealth per MW than the massive Viking Wind Farm — despite being 100x smaller.
Community-owned projects are punching above their weight.
Meanwhile, private companies extract profits while local people pay some of the highest energy bills in the UK.
Wind power in Scotland now produces enough electricity to power 10 million homes.
Yet 40% of households in the Western Isles live in fuel poverty.
🏡 Housing support in Shetland
🛳️ Out-of-hours ferry in Shapinsay
🌲 Forest restoration in Lewis
👩🏫 Youth workers & hardship funds in Tiree
This is social wealth AND green energy.
The shortest path to oligarchy is monopolist control of energy production.
Government will pretend to help by offering us "investment funds" that often have so many hoops to jump through only the wealthy communities can access them.
To what extent does this kind of thing reduce the national grid expansion requirement?