(From left) Lindsay Dougan, Senior Community Investment Manager, SSE, Malcolm Muir, community volunteer and Clyde South Lanarkshire Extension panel member, Morven Smith, Head of Community Investment, SSE, and Jimmy Wilson, CEO of Voluntary Action South Lanarkshire (VASLan) take part in a panel discussion at the Clyde Wind Farm celebration event. Picture credit: Nick Jones, VASLan
Clyde Wind Farm, one of Europe’s largest operational onshore sites, is celebrating a landmark achievement of providing over £20.8 million since 2012 through local and regional community benefit funds to over 1,000 community projects across Scotland’s southern uplands.
The milestone was celebrated at an event hosted by Clyde Wind Farm (Scotland) Limited at Biggar Rugby Club on Thursday 18 September.
Almost 100 members of the community and wind farm team attended the event marking an incredible partnership between the fund and community groups who are delivering positive impact to people who live in the area.
With 206 turbines and at an installed capacity of 522MW, Clyde Wind Farm is located south of Biggar and is one of Europe’s largest operational onshore wind farms. Clyde has been operating since 2012 and is owned by a joint venture between SSE, Greencoat UK Wind Plc, and GLIL Corporate Holdings Ltd.
Stretching from Biggar to Moffat across South Lanarkshire, Scottish Borders and Dumfries & Galloway, Clyde Wind Farm provides clean energy to power more than 290,000 homes annually.
Clyde Wind Farm was constructed in two stages. The original 152-turbine wind farm was completed and entered operation in 2012 while a 54-turbine extension was completed in 2017.
The construction and operation of projects contributed over £220m of socio-economic benefits to the Scottish economy including job creation, skills training, opportunities for local and Scotland-wide businesses.
In addition to economic benefit, Clyde Wind Farm is also committed to sharing value with nearby host communities. Four local community funds operate within the area. The funds help enhance and improve community assets and services for those living closest to the wind farm. The focus for the fund is based on local priorities and the decisions are made by local people for their communities. There are also two regional Sustainable Development Funds supporting strategic priorities of the region enhancing socio-economic development in the area.
Stuart Hood at the Clyde Wind Farm celebration event. Picture credit: Nick Jones, VASLan
Stuart Hood, Board Member of Clyde Wind Farm (Scotland) Limited, said:
“At the heart of this event we wanted to showcase the real and lasting impact of projects funded through Clyde Wind Farm in our local communities. It was inspiring to hear from representatives of projects throughout the fund area who shared their journey and experience. It is exciting to know that community groups continue to use our funds to build community capacity and expand the positive impact in a way that has added significant value since the wind farm was built”.
Lesley Mason of the Tweedsmuir community demonstrated how she has been working alongside a huge range of volunteers, developing the Wee Crook café among many other projects. This combined with the experiences of Gordon Wilson from Duneaton illustrated how impactful projects could be achieved with community funds when supported by a development worker with technical expertise.
This was followed by inspiring presentations from Simon Edwards of Broughton Village Store and Mike Steele of Nith Valley Leaf Trust who were able to show other community members how they have used funds to purchase, build and extend community amenities such as a local village shop and affordable housing projects.
Mike Steele, Nith Valley Leaf Trust, said:
“We found the event really useful, meeting other communities as well as Clyde Wind Farm (Scotland) Limited directors and SSE operations staff. It would be good to see this collaborative approach repeat on a regular basis to help bring development trusts, community councils and local groups together to discuss common issues and share good practice. We welcomed the opportunity to meet with Clyde Wind Farm staff to discuss how the fund can develop to support our communities and are grateful for the community funds that have contributed to our projects in Closeburn.”
The Biggar Corn Exchange spoke about their experiences in renovating the iconic Corn Exchange venue in Biggar and Symington community representatives shared learning about building the incredible synthetic football pitch, community playpark and other community run projects.
This celebration of inspiring community achievement was followed by a forward-looking open panel discussion highlighting some key issues and opportunities facing local people. It allowed the community to put forward some ideas as to how community funds should develop.
There has been a shift in the way that community funds have been spent throughout the years in the Clyde area. In the early years, funding often focused on smaller projects based on immediate needs. Today, community projects are increasingly ambitious, collaborative and strategic. Communities are using the fund to build resilience, create sustainable assets and address long-term priorities such as housing, skills, the environment and economic development.
This trend is reinforced by Malcolm Muir, community volunteer and member of the Clyde South Lanarkshire Extension decision making panel.
Malcolm Muir said:
“Our panel is seeing an increase in community development organisations seeking funds to adapt and manage local buildings, which we anticipate will continue as communities look at different ways of managing sustainable and functional spaces. Organisations in the Clyde Wind Farm area have benefited significantly from over £20 million of investment made and it is great to see the community grow as a result”.
The Clyde Wind Farm community benefit funds are managed by SSE Renewables, with details of how to apply available here.