Community-owned windfarms would generate cash, says report
Chris Donegan • Published 30 Jan 2012 16:00
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Wind farms are a blot on the landscape but they could provide a financial lifeline to struggling rural communities, according to a report by The Fermanagh Trust.
The charitable organisation says local people should share in the profits the turbines generate.
And it goes further, suggesting that if rural communities could build their own wind farms it would contribute to their long-term sustainability and help tackle fuel poverty.
The report says communities that host wind farms in their "back yard" should be paid £2,000 a year for every megawatt of electricity produced. At present Fermanagh's three wind farms, at Tappaghan near Lack, Callagheen near Belleek and Slieve Rushen at Derrylin, can generate just over 95 megawatts. That would produce an annual windfall of £190,000 for the local communities in those areas.
However, if we are to meet government targets we will need to generate three or four times as much energy from renewable resources by 2020. As Northern Ireland has one of the biggest wind resources in Europe it appears likely that much of that will come from new wind farms. It is proposed that these wind farms are clustered in the same areas which already have wind farms. That could pump hundreds of thousands of pounds into communities currently facing a wide range of issues in relation to poverty, disadvantage and isolation.
The Trust's report, "Maximising Community Outcomes from Wind Energy Developments", points out that the Northern Ireland Executive wants 40 per cent of our electricity to come from renewable sources by 2020.
"Given that onshore wind energy is expected to account for the majority of future renewable energy generation by 2020, it is evident that this is likely to have a significant impact on communities in counties Antrim, Derry/Londonderry, Fermanagh and Tyrone," states the report.
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