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UK: work starts on community-owned wind farm
Westmill is the first community-owned wind farm in south east of England
Work has started on one of the first, and the biggest, community-owned wind farms in England. Five 1.3 megawatt turbines are being installed at Westmill wind farm in Oxfordshire. The work is expected to take seven months before the wind farm is operational.
Westmill is the first community-owned wind farm in the prosperous south east of England. Community-owned wind farms are unusual in the UK, and it has taken the owners of Westmill about 15 years to get to this point.
It is the result of determined individuals working together to create an opportunity for all who are concerned about the effects of climate change, to be involved in the ownership of a wind farm. The members of the co-operative are mainly but not exclusively groups or individuals from the local area (Oxfordshire).
The wind farm co-operative was set up in 2004 thanks to the guidance of Energy4All Ltd, a consultant co-operative which aims to facilitate the ownership and the realisation of renewable energy projects.
The share issue was launched in November 2005 and the co-op raised about £4.4 million and gained a total of 2,394 members.
The co-op plans to sell the clean carbon-free electricity produced by the turbines over the next 25 years. The turbines will generate 12,000 megawatts of green electricity a year which is equivalent to the needs of 2,500 houses.
