Onshore Wind Re-powering Report: Opportunities for Community Wealth Building in Argyll and Bute – and beyond

A new report by Equitable Energy Research CIC, commissioned by InspirAlba and funded by Highlands and Islands Enterprise, makes the case that onshore wind repowering could be Scotland’s most significant community wealth building opportunity to date.

As Scotland’s first generation of wind farms approaches the end of their lifespan, the report suggests that repowering sites on public land, particularly across the Forestry and Land Scotland estate, could deliver lasting economic benefits to local communities rather than to private or foreign state-owned companies. Currently, less than 1% of Scotland’s onshore wind power is in community or local authority ownership.

The report welcomes the Scottish Government’s pilot scheme giving communities priority access to ten wind farm sites, but calls for this to go further, with priority access extended across the full Forestry and Land Scotland estate. It also calls on Ofgem, the National Energy System Operator, GB Energy and the Scottish National Investment Bank to take coordinated action to support community and local authority ownership.

Argyll and Bute, home to one of the oldest wind farm fleets in Scotland, is highlighted as a key opportunity area, with three pilot sites already identified for potential community repowering.