There are many benefits that come with developing a windfarm, including generating clean, safe energy; reducing CO₂ emissions; and helping secure our country's energy supply for the future. 

Environmental benefits

Renewable energy sources are those such as sunlight, wind, waves and tides, which are continuously replenished. Of these renewables, wind power is currently the most economical and technically advanced and is an energy resource that has been harnessed for at least 2000 years.

It offers global benefits in terms of electricity generation in that it is free from emissions of carbon dioxide (the main 'greenhouse' gas associated with global climate change) and other pollutants, such as sulphur dioxide or oxides of nitrogen, which can lead to acid rain.

Wind energy provides us with a clean, safe, sustainable energy source enabling us to reduce these damaging emissions and protect our environment. It also provides diversity and therefore security in UK energy supplies by reducing dependency on imported finite fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas.

Community benefits

In addition to the wider benefits of onshore wind with regards to security of supply etc in relation to benefits to people living in the vicinity of the windfarm, it is ScottishPower Renewables policy to offer £2000 per MW per year to the community to be used in support of projects.

How this money will be administered will be dependent on whether the Council have an existing policy/protocol in place, alternatively on a number of our other sites community trust funds have been administered through local community trusts. The trust has been responsible for determining the projects to be provided with grants, match funding can also be secured.

We also try and place contracts with local infrastructure companies during the construction phase, who in turn have a tendency to use locally based sub consultants. Our ability to do this is dependent on the availability of specialist skills/resource in the locality.