Community Benefit
WKN believes passionately in the need for renewable energy but we are also acutely aware of the necessity for sensitive and sustainable development, which will involve and benefit the local communities surrounding the site. We have committed to make an annual award of £5,000 per MW to the local communities of Central and North West Sutherland for local development. In November 2018, we signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on our Community Benefit Fund (CBF) with the six local communities. This means there will be a CBF of between £150,000 – £200,000 per annum.
- 35% to Lairg Community Council
- 20% to Creich Community Council
- 20% to Ardgay and District Community Council
- 25% to North West Communities (Scourie, Kinlochbervie and Durness)
Community Ownership
WKN are pleased to confirm that they have committed to providing the communities of Central and North West Sutherland with the opportunity for them to collectively own up to 10% of the equity in Sallachy Wind Farm. The communities are being assisted in these discussions by Local Energy Scotland, who will provide impartial advice and guidance to our community partners in Central and North West Sutherland.
This would be a clear opportunity for investment, taken forward via the creation of a new special purchase vehicle (SPV) that would be wholly owned by the Lairg and District Community Initiative, The Kyle of Sutherland Development Trust (representing Creich and Ardgay) and the North West Communities (representing Scourie, Durness and Kinlochbervie).
Kaye Hurrion, Lairg and District Community Initiatives said:
“As the host community, we have been engaged with the developers on the wind farm and have gathered the opinion of local residents. We have long been in discussions around the benefits the development could bring to Lairg and have supported exploring Shared Ownership of the wind farm further. The economic benefits investing in the site could bring to the village could make a real difference.”
David Watson, Kyle of Sutherland Development Trust said:
“We have been working with WKN on the opportunities that Shared Ownership can bring. We have had several meetings since 2018 and WKN have agreed to offer the communities up to a 10% investment in the project that could create significant economic opportunities for the communities of Central Sutherland.”
Neil Macdonald, North West Communities said:
“We’ve been pleased to work with WKN to ensure that this project will deliver real benefits to the local communities. Our discussions around shared ownership have been particularly helpful and there is potential for this project to really deliver.”
Highland Supply Chain Initiative
We believe that it is important to ensure as much benefit as possible is kept within the local area. We will provide a preferential bespoke Highland-wide local procurement policy which will offer local contractors advantages when tendering for contracts related to the wind farm. The types of contracts that could be available to businesses include electrical, fencing, civil engineering, enabling works, as well as the provision of accommodation and site security.
If you are a local business interested in the development please register your company name, registered address, and company description to kirsty.obrien@invictapa.co.uk.