South Kintyre Development Trust

Community Renewables

 

In August last year SKDT developed a partnership with Kintyre Recycling and the Kintyre Way to explore opportunities for investing in renewable energy in order to create sustainable incomes for our organisations. We all rely on a grant income for a proportion of our income which makes forward-planning very difficult and limits the range of activities and projects we can currently get involved with.

 

Community investment in renewable energy has potential to bring significantly greater financial returns than we currently receive from local wind farm trusts. With strong support from Government and funders, it is becoming an increasingly viable way for community associations to develop sustainable income streams to finance their organisations and support local good causes.

 

Growing numbers of communities have taken this step and are beginning to reap the rewards. Over the last ten years Kintyre has been a focal point for wind farm development, placing us in an excellent position to take advantage of the support and funding which is currently available. There is also support for solar and hydro projects and we are exploring all options.

We have identified several possible development opportunities and are currently applying for funding from CARES (the Government-backed Community and Renewable Energy Service) to engage experts to undertake feasibility studies and options appraisals. If our application is successful this work will be undertaken over the next three months and by April we will know whether any of these possibilities are worth pursuing further. It is an exciting time, as the prospect of having our own income will transform the Trust and enable us to support more local good causes and develop a wide range of community-led regeneration projects.