Fintry Renewable Energy Enterprise
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The Windfarm at Earlsburn
After a process of discussion both within the Community Council forum and also
informally within other village structures, there was an enthusiasm to explore a
community renewable initiative. This enthusiasm preceeded the
possibility of a local windfarm at Earlsburn, 5 miles to the East of Fintry.
Such a development might be seen as an imposition on a rural community, however the
view in our village was that such a development presented an
opportunity to the community which if developed in a sensitive and inclusive fashion
could bring benefits to all members of the village. We also felt that our proposal
might provide a template for the involvement of the public at large in the difficult
task of achieving a change in attitude to energy use; yet such a change is essential
if a real move to sustainable energy is to be achieved.
As originally proposed, the windfarm would have generating capacity in the
region of 30MW from 14 wind turbines. The developers presented the
proposal to our Community Council, and described the common practice of funding a
community to the tune of £1000/annum/MW produced by a local windfarm; such a
payment was being offered to Fintry and other communities neighbouring the development.
The community of Fintry voiced an opinion that any renewable initiative should be
beneficial to as many members of the village as possible, recognizing that we all need
electricity and that only through widespread change in energy use
will a truly sustainable future be achievable.
