Aug 11 2015
Against the backdrop of recent Government policy changes on renewable energy, one community wind project in Scotland has been quietly raising funds.
Today, the board of Heartland Community Wind announced that the twin turbine project in Perthshire will definitely be installed in October this year. This is following a community share offer which has raised just over £1.4 million so far. Although the share offer is not yet fully subscribed, the board have recently renegotiated payment terms so that the installation can go ahead while the share offer continues to raise the remaining £300,000.
Jon Halle, speaking on behalf of the project said “Securing suitable payment terms with Perth’s RM Energy is the last part of the jigsaw. Planning consent and a grid connection have been secured for some time, so the project was locked into the Feed in Tariff before recent DECC statements. This means that we can go ahead with the installation in October as planned and should be generating before Christmas.”
Jon Halle said “despite the Government announcements, there is still a steady stream of enquiries and applications. People who wish to join in order to show their support for onshore Scottish wind power, should do soon as the shares are available on a first-come first-served basis.”
Heartland Community Wind is one of the few new community wind projects in the UK that will not be affected directly by most of the DECC announcements. The project will provide a community fund which is offering scholarships to youngsters attending Perth UHI. Members can expect an estimated return of around 7% per annum over twenty years and generous tax reliefs.