Remote Scottish island seeks outside investment for community wind power scheme
The fortunes of North Uist could be transformed by a community share option to build wind turbines, writes Alison Campsie
Investors are being sought for a long-awaited renewables scheme on North Uist which will raise revenue for the island for the next 22 years. Around £1.1 million is still required to get the Uist Wind project up and running after planning permission was finally granted for two wind turbines near Clachan.
A community share offer was launched on the island at the weekend, with investors promised a four per cent annual return on their money.
Organisers have stressed that anyone can invest in Uist Wind – you do not have to live on the islands.
Folk singer Julie Fowlis, who was raised on North Uist, has lent her support to the project.
“People can firstly see it is a reasonable rate of return and also it is helping a community project which people understand is worthwhile.
“North Uist is one of the very few islands that have been unable to develop its renewable resources so far. South Uist has a big scheme, on Harris there are several, and on Lewis also. “Now it is the turn of North Uist.” Mr Ross said he hoped people might invest to benefit the younger generation, with child bonds one option for those seeking to support the scheme. The arrival of the wind turbines on North Uist has been delayed for several years due to objections by the Ministry of Defence, which have now been dropped.
North Uist sits within the Ministry of Defence (MOD) Hebrides, the largest weapons test and evaluation range in Europe.
The island’s green energy project was first proposed in 2009 but was blocked by the MOD amid claims that the wind turbines could potentially disrupt radar signals at St Kilda.
The radar is needed for the Hebrides Range – the UK’S largest test area for missile systems such as the surface-to-air Rapier.
NUDC later proposed a technical solution to mitigate any effect the turbines could have on the radar systems, with the MOD lifting its objection to the plan last year.
Now, it is expected that around £2.3m will be raised by the sale of electricity generated by the turbines over the next 22 years.
This is significantly lower than first anticipated given the reductions to UK Government subsidies for wind power schemes that have come into force since the North Uist scheme was first proposed.
However, the much-needed funds will be used to fund social, cultural and health projects to benefit the community.
The community share offer will fund around 25 per cent of getting the wind turbines operational, with a private bank agreeing to fund the remainder.
If investors cannot be found, a further loan will be sought, although this will impact on the money available for the island.
It is hoped that electricity production can begin on North Uist by June 2019.
An event in Edinburgh designed to attract investment from the mainland to the North Uist wind power project is due to be held in the near future.
Renewable electricity generation in Scotland in 2017 increased by 26 per cent on the previous 12 months, official figures published last month found.
It marked a record year for renewable electricity generation and means Scotland now has more than 10GW of installed renewable capacity.
The figures show that in 2017 the equivalent of 68.1 per cent of gross electricity consumption came from renewable sources, up 14.1 percentage points from 54 per cent in 2016. This is 45 percentage points more than the equivalent figure for the rest of the UK.