A developer’s perspective of
community benefit funds
Claire Addison
Communications Manager
AES Wind Generation
AES Wind Generation
• Developer and operator specialising in
medium to large scale wind projects in the UK.
• Responsible for development and operation of
almost 300MW of installed capacity, with over
300MW in development.
• Member of Renewable UK and Scottish
Renewables.
AES and community benefit funding
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Independently administered
Offered for 25 year life of each site
Index linked
Decision on structure and priorities trusted to
local communities
• Community profile offered
• Support for strategic and long-term projects
North Rhins Wind Farm
• Located on the Rhins peninsula, between
Stranraer and Portpatrick.
• Operating since January 2010.
• 11 turbines with a total installed capacity of
22MW.
• £236,280 towards the community purchase of
the Portpatrick Harbour.
Going forward: what we’d like to see
• Guidance and support in overcoming gaps
between community councils and other
community members
• Guidance and support for strategic funding
models including social enterprises and start up
grants
• Case studies focusing on economic development
• A clear structure for electricity discount schemes
Going forward: what developers
should be offering
• A named point of contact
• An agreed £ per MW that is the industry standard at
the time of the fund’s creation
• Option of multi-year funding models to encourage
stable support
• Flexibility and a willingness to trust local people to
decide where the money can best be used
• Paying for additional costs on top of the fund – no
siphoning off
• A simple application process and reasonable
turnaround time