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Gordon Cowtan

Gordon Cowtan. Community engagement with the renewables industry – the magical mystery tour. Community Engagement with the Renewables Industry Gordon Cowtan, Director, Fintry Development Trust September 2009. Engaging with the Renewables Industry. Our story What we did Other stories

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Gordon Cowtan

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  1. Gordon Cowtan Community engagement with the renewables industry – the magical mystery tour

  2. Community Engagement with the Renewables Industry Gordon Cowtan, Director, Fintry Development Trust September 2009

  3. Engaging with theRenewables Industry • Our story • What we did • Other stories • What others have done • What the future holds • The future’s bright etc

  4. Our Story - About Fintry Approx 330 households Adult population around 500 Primary school, village hall, sports club (incorporating shop and PO) Most people commute to Glasgow, Edinburgh, Stirling Not on mains gas

  5. The Story • Two residents looking at community renewable possibilities in the local area – 6 years ago • Windfarm developer arrived on the scene • Let’s not re-invent the wheel • Long process of negotiation • Sums looked good • Feasibility study commissioned (EST grant)

  6. The Story - Negotiation • Developer made two offers – • ‘Community benefit’ payments • Co-operative investment • Both rejected • ‘Locked room’ meeting • Agreement reached in principal • Conclusion • Community apply for own turbine • Will be built along with the rest • Finance?

  7. The Story • Planning permission obtained • How are we going to find £2.5million • Deliberate policy of not seeking any grant funding for capital cost • Reproducability • Stakeholders • Fruitful discussions with commercial lenders • Also need PPA, grid connection etc etc

  8. The Story • Ultimately developer made an offer • We piggy-back on their project finance and deals • Capital cost • Maintenance contracts • PPA agreement • Too good to turn down although downsides • Whip hand in relationship with developer

  9. The Story • Deal signed • Construction starts Spring 2006 • Windfarm commission Dec 2007 • First cheque May 2008 (£140k) • First project delivered to the village Autumn 2008

  10. The Turbine

  11. Other Stories • Go it alone – Gigha, Westray and others • Community-scale schemes • Completely owned by the community • HICEC/CES particularly keen on • Fintry-style deals – Sanday, Neilston • A portion of a commercial scheme • Beware of gifts • Community Benefit • Appropriate in many instances

  12. What the future holds Commercial developers are required to do more than pay lip service to communities More commercial developers are looking to engage successfully at a local level Community Energy Scotland run the CARES grant scheme Social Investment Scotland increasingly happy to invest But the big news is the Feed In Tarrif (FITs)

  13. Feed In Tarrif New financial support with the aim of encouraging domestic, community and farm scale renewables Makes medium-scale wind feasible for communities (less than 500kW) Also applies to other technologies (hydro, anaerobic digestion, photo-voltaics) Supposed to be in force April 2010

  14. Feed In Tarrif • Medium-scale wind particularly attractive for communities • Single turbine site, tip height around 50m • Less intrusive than big ones • Planning, feasibility costs substantially reduced • Earn around £150,000 pa (gross)

  15. FDT Future Activities • Delivered projects on the ground – • Energy saving measures for sports club • New heating system for village hall • Free insulation for households • Future projects – • FEET – Fintry Energy Efficient Transport • Fintry Woodfuel • FRESCo – Fintry Energy Supply Company • Convert whole village to low-carbon heating in 5 years.

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