Green Energy firm calls on Highland Council to help release funds to tackle depopulation

15th October 2013

Today green energy company Infinergy called upon The Highland Council to allow plans for a wind farm near Dounreay in order to help unlock £9m of community funds. The funds could be used to support a range of projects to help the village of Reay and the wider Caithness area and tackle the problem of depopulation.

The Infinergy Statement says "Were members of the North Planning Applications Committee of The Highland Council to not object to the Limekiln Wind Farm, located about 2km south of the village of Reay, at their meeting on 22 October 2013, it would send a strong message to Scottish Ministers to expedite approval of the project, allowing Infinergy to begin construction and start paying the community benefit fund associated with the project."

A Community Liaison Forum (CLF) made up of local community groups, training and educational establishment has developed a range of ideas which could be implemented if the project gets the go-ahead, many of which focused on tackling the strategic problem of depopulation. Ideas so far include:

· A community enterprise café or shop, with attached accommodation for visiting groups such as students studying the local flora and fauna;

· Improved facilities for surfers and others using the beach, such as showers and changing rooms;

· A community bus to supplement the currently poor public transport provision serving Reay;

· Support for local small businesses including funding for apprenticeships and grants to help start-up and smaller firms get off the ground; and

· Improvements at the Limekiln site to allow it to be used for mountain biking and integration with long-distance footpath networks.

Fiona Milligan, Infinergy’s Inverness-based project manager, said:“At a time when communities are crying out for funds to improve local infrastructure, support community groups and provide new skills and apprenticeships, we hope The Highland Council will allow our project at Limekiln to go ahead and help unlock community benefit funds these projects can access.”

“The Community Liaison Forum we have been working with in Reay has brought together local people and they have come up with creative and innovative ideas that could help the village and the wider Caithness area, whether they are in favour of our development or not. I think that reflects their own deep commitment to helping the area and we are very grateful for their assistance.”

“Some of these ideas are aimed at tackling the problems faced by Reay and surrounding areas such as depopulation caused by poor public transport links and a lack of local employment opportunities, forcing young people to head elsewhere for work. These problems may become more acute when decommissioning at Dounreay eventually finishes.”

“Infinergy set up the community liaison forum to ensure that the community benefit fund’s priorities are identified at an early stage, to avoid the situation seen in some other areas where inadequate planning has led to funds going unspent and not achieving the good for the community they have the potential to do.”

“We hope the North Planning Applications Committee will give the green light to the Limekiln wind farm application at their meeting on 22 October and we urge Scottish Government to approve the project as soon as possible.”

The Limekiln wind farm proposal is for 24 turbines on a site located around 2km south of Reay, and 2.8km south/southwest of the existing Dounreay Power Station. The project would have a total installed electricity generating capacity of up to 72 megawatts (MW), capable of powering around 43,600 homes. Over its lifetime the proposed wind farm may save between 2,034,075 and 4,068,150 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

Infinergy is offering the community surrounding its 24-turbine Limekiln wind farm proposal an industry-leading community benefit package worth £5,000 per megawatt (MW) – a total of up to £360,000 per year or £9million over the 25 year lifetime of the project, based on a total installed capacity of up to 72MW.

Membership of the Community Liaison Forum does not imply either support for or opposition to the proposal and members have been free to take whatever stance they wish on the planning application.

As well as meetings of the community liaison forum in May 2012, September 2012 and February 2013, Infinergy held well-attended community engagement events in March and May 2012, to gather local views.

The planning application for the £93m Limekiln wind farm was submitted to the Scottish Government in December 2012.

Infinergy Ltd:
Infinergy is a wind farm development company, committed to renewable energy to help preserve our planet. We develop onshore wind farms throughout the UK. For more information, please visit www.infinergy.co.uk and www.limekilnwindfarm.co.uk.