Westmill Wind Farm Co-operative

In Cumbria in 1996 the Swedish company Wind Power pushed for the establishment of Baywind Energy Co‑operative, the first community-owned wind farm in the UK. Baywind undertook two community share issues that between 1996 and 1999 raised over £1.9 million. It now has 1,350 members, 40% of whom live in the local area. All the members have an equal vote, whether they invested £300 (the minimum) or £20,000 (the maximum by law) and it generates enough green electricity to power 1,300 homes a year. The success of Baywind led to the establishment of Energy4all, a company which supports the development of new community-owned wind farms across the UK along the lines of the Baywind model. One of the most recent and successful of these community-owned wind farms is Westmill Wind Farm Co‑operative in South Oxfordshire. Built on a former airstrip owned by an organic farmer who was happy to use the land for this scheme it consists of five 1.3MW turbines, capable of generating sufficient electricity to power the equivalent of 2,500 homes. Over half of the funding for the £7.6m construction came from a public share issue using Industrial and Provident Society legisaltion, which provided the leverage to secure a loan from the Co‑operative Bank for the rest of the funding. The initial share offer, in November 2005, sought to raise £3.75m, with preference given to applicants living within 50 miles of the farm. Westmill produced a share offer prospectus, vetted by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). A huge success, by the time the offer had closed three months later Westmill was over-subscribed, with over £4 million sent in by applicants. The co‑operative had to scale back some applications, giving preference to locals, but this indicated the strong desire of people to be co-owners of the wind farm. In August 2006 the turbine suppliers announced delays, which resulted in Westmill having to negotiate a deal with new turbine suppliers. Eventually, an agreement was reached, but at a much higher cost, meaning that Westmill had to appeal to its 2,382 members for an additional £850,000 in share capital. Again, the response was overwhelming. A further £1.25m was raised in just three weeks. From there on, the project progressed rapidly. Construction began in August 2007, the first turbine was erected in January 2008, electricity was being generated by mid-February 2008 and it was officially opened in May 2008 by Jonathan Porritt, Programme Director of Forum for the Future and Chairman of the UK Sustainable Development Commission. At the opening he praised the model: "I am delighted to have been . . . to officially unveil Westmill Wind Farm Co‑operative. I would like to congratulate all those who have been involved in this particular scheme over such a long time. Today is of enormous significance; now, we need to see models like this available to more communities across the UK, not just one that triumphs through adversity." Andrew King, Chair of Energy4All, said Energy4All were "happy to have been able to support the Westmill Wind Farm Co‑operative throughout its long and difficult development. It should not take 15 years to get a project like this up and running if we are committed to tackling climate change it is imperative the government gives urgent consideration to legislation favouring community owned renewable energy schemes at the planning stage." The important feature of Westmill, like the other Energy4All wind farms is that it not only gives the local community ownership of the development and control over how it operates, but investors a very competitive financial return. An initial interest rate on share capital of 5% pa is forecast, rising to an average of 12% pa over the 25 year life of the project.