Local Community

To find out more about our work with communities visit our Community webpages.

RWE npower renewables offers a range of community benefit packages at our operating onshore and offshore wind farms, these usually benefit those communities living closest to the site.   

There are a number of ways of designing and operating these packages which are negotiated locally to meet the specific needs of individual areas. Packages vary, depending on the size, type and geographical make up of local communities.

Community benefit packages have been used to fund a wide variety of activities including community building refurbishments, environmental education programmes, energy efficiency schemes and supporting local groups and organisations.

In association with the Bilbster Wind Farm, a community fund has been set up to assist local community projects in Tannach and Watten communities. Watten and Tannach Community Councils administer the Community Fund which is worth in total over £140,000 (in today's money) over the operational lifetime of the wind farm. This means that decisions about how the fund is allocated are made by local representatives for the benefit of their own community.
 
Local Economic Benefits

At Bilbster the capital investment for the project was in the region of £6m. In addition to the wide range of companies and consultants employed during the planning process, approximately eighteen contractors were employed during the construction process.

Some of the local companies involved during the construction are listed below:

• Andrew Swanson (Dry Stone Wall)
• Gunns (Surfacing of new Site Entrance)
• John Mackay (Site Clearance & Tree Felling)
• John Munro Joinery (Substation Building)
• Scottish Hydro Contracting (Thurso) (Electrical Installation)
• Scottish & Southern Energy (Wick) (Grid Connection)
• Simpsons (Wick harbour services)
• Stephen Blackwood (Fencing)