Almost £3M of funding generated through the newly constructed Kirk Hill Wind Farm in South Ayrshire, Scotland, has been pledged to support Scottish communities through the Ripple Energy Community Benefit Fund.
Image Credit: Ripple Energy
The £94,000 per annum, which is the equivalent to £5000/MW, will be generated through the sale of green energy produced at Kirk Hill Wind Farm. It is the second community-owned project by clean energy ownership platform Ripple Energy, and is expected to begin generating energy in early 2024. Funds will be available for distribution to local projects after the first anniversary of commissioning of the wind farm.
The funds will be awarded to the Dailly Community Development Trust and North Carrick Community Benefit Company. Part of this will be used to improve the children’s play area at the Loaning Play Park as well as improving the facilities at the Dailly Community Centre. It will also be used to provide grants to local groups and community projects in Maybole and the North Carrick villages.
Kirk Hill Wind Farm is communally-owned by 5,600 members from all across the UK, who have all joined a Ripple Energy managed co-operative to have low cost renewable energy power their homes, reducing their energy bills and carbon footprint.
CEO of Ripple Energy, Sarah Merrick said: “Giving back to the community at all of our projects is incredibly important to us. We are a people-powered business, and through the green energy revolution, not only are we able to work towards a fossil-fuel free world, we are able to empower local communities and support a brighter, more sustainable future.”
Dailly Community Development Trust said: “The Trust looks forward to working with Ripple Energy through the Kirk Hill Community Benefit Fund, and the contribution this will make to Community projects in Dailly."
NCCBC Chair Mark Fletcher said: ‘We are very pleased to sign the agreement for the Kirk Hill Wind Farm development, this additional income will allow us to do even more to improve North Carrick, and we aim to use this benefit funding with a particular focus on actioning the outcomes of our recent ‘North Carrick Strategy for Youth.’