What could Community Energy look like in our area?
We at Phoenix Energy Community are obviously at the beginning of our journey towards our stated vision: for every home and business in our area to be energy efficient, powered by locally-produced renewable energy. We’ve been in information-gathering mode, and as part of this we’ve spoken to some truly inspiring organisations around the country who are further along this road, and who are doing phenomenal work. One of these is Huntly Development Trust
Huntly Development Trust are based in Huntly, Aberdeenshire. They formed in 2009 with the ambition of building a resilient, inclusive, enterprising community capable of dealing with ongoing change. That means doing good stuff which improves the lot of the people who live there, whether through encouraging participation in active travel, sport and culture, or producing their own energy.
They have a large stake in five wind turbines at Cairnbarrow. Over the lifetime of the project it’s estimated this will raise £3m for the community. They also have a stake in two turbines at Wheedlemont, which will bring in another £650,000.
The capital for these projects either comes from grants, or from share offers – local people owning a chunk of their local infrastructure.
Projects like these enable them to employ 6 full time staff, and have allowed them to take over a 63 acre nature reserve, Greenmyres, where they’ve built an ‘Ecobothy’ which houses a café and is a space for the community to come together for functions or meetings. They’ve also put on sports and cultural festivals.
Communities like Huntly are really inspiring us. Our specific projects will be different, but the point is local people will have a say in what goes on in their community with regards to energy infrastructure, and will benefit from it themselves.