Empowering the
Isle of Bute
Auchintirrie Community
Owned Wind Turbine
Project
Why BCP?
• 11% of Bute’s households
were surveyed & 85% were
supportive of Communitybased wind farms
• To generate renewable
energy
• Community Owned
• To create wealth for the
community of Bute
£
£
£
How to create wealth?
• Generating and selling renewable energy to the
grid and gifting all profits to a community trust –
with the projected profit at average of £50,000
per year over 20 years
• Providing community benefit as mandated by the
Scottish Government
• Provide a reasonable rate of return on
community members investment to the project
as profit income is generated
• Support a local independent farmer’s livelihood
What is the project?
We are presently working on a two
250kW turbine project at
Auchintirrie Farm.
Join Bute Community Power with a
£1 Voting Share so we can achieve
our goal of:
• Generating average of £50,000 per year
over the next 20 years for a Bute
Community Investment Trust
• Invest in the community owned
Auchntirrie Wind Turbine Project for a
competitive return on investment
Request to Bute Community Council
• Resolution of Support that notes:
– 47m turbine is within the parameters of A&B
Council Landscape Capacity Study for Bute
– Negligible Environmental & Cultural Heritage
impact
– Supports the sustainable development policy of
A&B Council
• Join as a member
• Visit to Wind Towers (Scotland) & Tangy Wind
Farm, Campbeltown, 28th April 7am-5pm –
Sponsored by SSE
FAQ
Community Attitude
Bird Mortality
Consumer Attitude
Financial Model
Community Profit
Efficiency
Turbine Specification
Environmental
Turbine Noise
Tidal Energy
Visual Impact
Subsidies & Support
Shadow Flicker
Community Attitude
88% of Scots want a future based on
renewable (BBC 23 April 2012)
Bute residents survey 2009
•85% were supportive of Communitybased wind farms
www.tzcb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Research-Results-15th-July-10.pdf
Bute residents survey 2011
•94% support the vision of Bute 100%
renewable
http://www.tzcb.org.uk/?p=1193
Wintering Bird Survey
• Only three greylag flights, all comprising very low numbers of
birds, passed within 200 m of the turbine layout at risk height.
• No Greenland white-fronted geese flew within 200 m of the
turbine layout.
• Utilising SNH avoidance rates for geese species, ( 99.8 %) it
was considered that there was insufficient at risk flight activity
to warrant collision modelling
• Hen harrier was the only species with sufficient at risk flight
activity considered to warrant collision modelling.
• Results of this modelling indicate collision risk of greater than
1:300 year
• It is extremely unlikely that there will be any collision events
within the life of the development.
Estimates of Avian Mortality 2010-2030
Generation Type
Bird Deaths /GWh
Wind Turbine
0.269
Nuclear Power Plant
0.416
Fossil Fuel Plant
5.18
Sovacool, Benjamin K. (2013). "The avian benefits of wind energy: A 2009
update". Renewable Energy 49: 19. doi:10.1016/j.renene.2012.01.074.
Matching Renewable Electricity Generation with Demand, University of
Edinburgh, produced for the Scottish Executive, February 2006, Delivering
the New Generation of Energy – Routemap to Scottish Renewables,
Scottish Renewables, 2006
Comparison of Bird Mortality from
Anthropogenic Causes
Power lines
14%
Cats
11%
Automobiles
9%
Pesticides
7%
Communication
Tower
0%
Wind Turbines
0%
“The RSPB supports
significant growth in
onshore and offshore wind
power generation”1
Airplanes
0%
Buildings
59%
1
2
http://www.rspb.org.uk/ourwork/policy/windfarms/
Erickson, W.P., G.D. Johnson & D.P. Young. 2005. A summary and comparison of bird
mortality from anthropogenic causes with an emphasis on collision. USDA Forest
ServiceGen. Tech. Rep. PSWGTR-191: 1029–1042.
www.fs.fed.us/psw/publications/documents/psw_gtr191/Asilomar/pdfs/1029-1042.pdf
Financial Model
Annual power generated by one 250kW turbine =
24hrs x 365 days x 250kW x 40% load factor
= 876,000kWh
Annual Income = 876,000 x (£0.1230 FiT + 0.0477 ET)
= £ 149,533.20
Annual income for 2 Turbines = 2 x £ 149,533.20
= £ 299,066.40
Power Generation Efficiency
Power Generation Efficiency
Hydro Turbines
• Betz Law
calculates
maximum
efficiency of
turbine as 56.3%
• Modern turbines
can achieve 7580% of Betz law
87.5%
Wind Turbine
44.5%
Natural Gas
42.9%
Deisel Engine
38.5%
Nuclear
32.7%
Coal
32.6%
Petroleum
31.8%
Solar
20.0%
0%
http://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.cfm?id=107&t=3
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betz%27s_law
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Energy Return on Investment
Life Cycle Analysis of GE
Generation Technologies
Comparison
EROI is essentially cumulative
energy produced as a ratio of
cumulative energy required to
commission, operate and
decommission a power
source. A higher EROI value
indicates a better performing
system.
Energy Payback Ratio for Various Generation
Technologies
Wind
23
Nuclear
Fission
16
Coal
11
PV
6
Natural
Gas
4
0
5
10
15
20
25
Denholm, Paul and Gerald Kulcinski, "Net energy balance and greenhouse gas
emissions from renewable energy storage systems," Energy Center of Wisconsin
Report 223-1, University of Wisconsin-Madison - Madison, June 2003
Environmental Impact Comparisons
CO2 Emission Rates for Various Generation
Technologies
Life Cycle Analysis of GE
Generation Technologies
Comparison
Denholm, Paul and Gerald Kulcinski, "Net
energy balance and greenhouse gas emissions
from renewable energy storage systems,"
Energy Center of Wisconsin Report 223-1,
University of Wisconsin-Madison - Madison,
June 2003
Wind
14
Nuclear
Fission
15
Coal
974
PV
39
Natural
Gas
469
0
200
400
600
Tonnes CO2 Equiv Per GWhe
800
1000
Consumer Attitudes
to Wind Farms
86%
83%
86% of Scot’s asked stated the natural landscape and
countryside scenery were important factors to them
when taking holidays or short breaks in the UK (10%
said it was neither important or unimportant, 2% said it
unimportant).
However 83% Scots said that the presence of a wind
farm would not affect their decision about where to
visit or where to stay on a UK holiday or short break
(17% claiming that it would affect their choices).
http://www.visitscotland.org/pdf/Insights%20Wind%20Farm%20Topic%20Paper%28nov2013%29.pdf
Invest in tide?
The Hydrographic Office 1992,
Tidal Stream Atlas Firth of
Clyde and Approaches NP222
indicates that the tidal currents
in the Firth of Clyde and
specifically around the Island of
Bute does not have access to
significant tidal resources
• Speed >1.5m/s
• Depth >20m
Towards Zero Carbon Bute – Tidal Energy Report. Aecom
Energy 20 July 2011
Community Profit & Benefit
Projected Community Profit over 20 years =
£1,000,000.00
Projected Community Benefit over 20 years
= £5,000 x 0.5 x 20 =
£50,000
Turbine Specifications
Sound Model
• Wind speed
12.5m/s
• Omni
directional
downwind
• Key
threshold of
35dB
Zone of Theoretical Visibility
Location
Straad
Rothesay
East Colmac
Townhead
Port Bannatyne
Ardbeg
Craigmore
Montford
Theoretical
Visibility
Cnoc an Rath
No
St. Blanes
No
Kames Castle
No
Mount Stuart
No
Rothesay Pavilion
No
Rothesay Castle
No
Winter Gardens
No
Wester Kames Castle
No
UCB
Not Significant
Location
Theoretical
Visibility
Not Significant
No
Significant
Not Significant
No
No
Not Significant
No
Shadow Flicker
• The contours mark
the number of
hours of potential
impact to an
individual window
at 2m above ground
level.
• Each contour
represents 50 hours
of shadow flicker
events per annum
UK Energy Support & Subsidies
Subsidies & Support
2011 (£ millions)
Natural Gas
£3,631
Coal
£85
Petrolium
£539
Nuclear
£2,300
Renewables
Renewables
32%
£3,100
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmselect/cmenvaud/61/61vw.pdf
Nuclear
24%
Natural Gas
38%
Coal, 1%
Petrolium,
5%