Community Wealth Building on the Isle of Lewis
Across Scotland, and nowhere more than in the Western Isles, communities live surrounded by some of the best renewable energy resources in Europe. Yet the same islands that host wind development on their doorsteps are among those hit hardest by fuel and energy poverty. For the most part the profits from that energy leave the area entirely, flowing to external and overseas owners.
Point and Sandwick Trust was set up to keep more of that wealth at home. Its community-owned wind farm, Beinn Ghrideag, is one of the largest community-owned wind farms in the UK, and it has returned more than £10 million to the local community since it began generating in 2016. That income funds everything from grassroots grants to a dedicated team tackling fuel poverty.
We spoke to Marketing Manager Joanna Macleod about how the model works, and what difference it makes when a community owns the asset, keeps the profits, and puts that wealth back into circulation in the local economy.
Picture credits: Point and Sandwick Trust
About the Trust
Can you tell us a bit about how Point and Sandwick Trust got started, and what need it was set up to meet?
Point and Sandwick Trust grew out of a determination within the local community to make sure that some of the enormous renewable energy potential of the Western Isles benefited the people who live here.
The Trust was established to create sustainable income for the communities of Point and Sandwick on the Isle of Lewis. Rather than relying solely on grants or outside investment, the ambition was to develop a community-owned renewable energy project which could generate its own income and use the profits to support local needs for many years to come.
Starting with a public meeting to gauge interest, that first discussion eventually led to the development of Beinn Ghrideag, our three-turbine community-owned wind farm, which began generating electricity in 2016.
How would you describe what the Trust does, in a sentence or two, to someone who’s never heard of you?
PST uses income generated by our community-owned wind farm to invest in people, projects and services that make our communities stronger and more sustainable.
That ranges from grants to local organisations to major investments in community facilities, tackling fuel poverty, supporting local jobs and services, and developing projects which we hope will create lasting economic and social benefits.
Who runs the Trust day to day, and how are local people involved in the decisions you make?
Point and Sandwick Trust is a community organisation governed by a voluntary Board of local directors, with a small staff managing its work.
Local people can become members of the Trust and the Board is accountable to that membership. Having local people involved in governance is fundamental to the model: the income is generated from a community-owned asset and decisions about how that income is used are made locally, with the needs of the community at their heart. We conduct an independent community consultation every five years and work to a five-year community development plan based on those findings.
“Ownership makes a fundamental difference. The community owns the asset, so the profits stay here and can be reinvested.”
About the wind farm
The wind farm is at the heart of everything. How does the model actually work, from generating power to money reaching local projects?
Beinn Ghrideag consists of three turbines generating renewable electricity which is sold to the grid. The wind farm is operated through Point and Sandwick Power, which is wholly owned by Point and Sandwick Trust.
After operating costs and finance are paid, the profits generated by the wind farm are passed to the Trust and reinvested for community benefit.
That gives us something relatively unusual for a rural community organisation: a long-term source of income generated by an asset which the community itself owns. The money can then be used for community grants, major projects, services and investment rather than being distributed to private shareholders.
Why did it matter that the wind farm was community owned?
Ownership makes a fundamental difference. Renewable energy developments can generate significant economic value, but if they are externally owned much of that value inevitably leaves the area. With Beinn Ghrideag, the community owns the asset, so the profits stay here and can be reinvested.
It also means that local people are not simply recipients of a community benefit payment decided by somebody else. The community has ownership of the underlying asset and therefore a much greater stake in the wealth it creates.
Roughly how much has the Trust been able to put back into the community so far, and over what period?
Since Beinn Ghrideag began generating in 2016, more than £10 million has been returned for community benefit through support for local projects, organisations, services and investment.
That has allowed us to support everything from relatively small community grants to substantial long-term investments in facilities, services and infrastructure.
Where the money goes
What kinds of projects and people do you fund?
The range is extremely broad because the needs of a rural community are broad. We support local sports clubs, schools and young people’s activities, community groups, cultural events, facilities and services. Recent examples include funding for Point Junior Football Club, Sgoil an Rubha’s netball activities and community events.
At the other end of the scale, we have made major investments in projects such as Àros an Rubha, the community hub at Knock. Other capital projects include support for the creation of a local path network — the Point and Sandwick Trail — and the restoration of Garrabost Mill into a heritage site. Our support also extends beyond Point and Sandwick where there is a strong benefit to the wider island community, such as Bethesda Hospice in Stornoway, the only end-of-life care available in the Western Isles.
Is there a particular project you’re especially proud of, or one that shows the difference the funding makes?
It is difficult to choose one because the value of a project isn’t necessarily reflected in its size.
Àros an Rubha is a good example of what long-term community investment can achieve. A former school has been transformed into a busy community hub which provides space for organisations and services and is also home to the local community shop and café. We have invested substantially in the building and its development and continue to support activity there.
The Energy Support Unit is another example of the social impact that renewable energy income can have. We have fully funded a team to deliver practical help to households facing fuel poverty in our local area. Fuel poverty is a critical issue in the Western Isles, where energy costs, climate and the nature of the housing stock are all contributing factors.
Both projects demonstrate that community renewable energy isn’t simply about generating electricity. It can provide the resources to address very practical local needs.
Beyond the grants, does the Trust support the local economy in other ways, such as local jobs or local suppliers?
Yes. Grants are only one part of what we do. The Trust supports employment directly and through the projects and services it funds. We use local businesses and suppliers wherever appropriate, invest in community facilities and infrastructure, and support organisations which themselves employ people and purchase goods and services locally.
Projects such as Àros an Rubha also help sustain services and economic activity that might otherwise be difficult to maintain in a small rural community. This is an important part of the wider picture: money generated locally can circulate through the local economy rather than immediately leaving the islands.
“Community renewable energy isn’t simply about generating electricity. It can provide the resources to address very practical local needs.”
Community wealth building
For you, what does community wealth building mean in practice on Lewis and across the Western Isles?
For us, community wealth building is very practical. It means communities owning assets, retaining more of the value those assets generate and having a meaningful say in how that wealth is used.
On islands such as ours, we are surrounded by extraordinary natural resources, including some of the best wind resources in Europe. Community wealth building asks how more of the economic value created from those resources can remain here, supporting jobs, services, businesses, facilities and communities. Our community wind farm at Beinn Ghrideag is a very tangible example of that principle in action.
What difference does it make keeping this wealth local, rather than it leaving the islands?
It creates choices and resilience. Many rural and island communities face the same pressures: population decline, high living costs, fuel poverty, fragile services and limited employment opportunities. At the same time, there is enormous renewable energy development taking place around us.
Keeping a greater share of that wealth locally gives communities resources to respond to their own priorities. It means money can support a community building, a sports club, a household struggling with energy costs, a local job or a new project — and much of that money will then circulate again within the island economy.
It also reduces dependence on short-term external funding. Having our own income gives us the ability to think and invest over the longer term.
If another rural community wanted to do something similar, what would you tell them, and what would you warn them about?
We would tell them that community ownership can be transformative, but not to underestimate what is involved. Beinn Ghrideag took years of determination to bring to fruition. Developing a renewable energy project involves planning, finance, grid connections, technical expertise, regulation and considerable financial risk. Community projects are dealing with many of the same complexities as commercial developers, often with far fewer resources.
Strong local leadership, persistence and access to good professional advice are essential. We would also say that ownership matters. The difficult part is getting to the point where the community owns an income-generating asset, but once that has been achieved it can create benefits for decades rather than providing a one-off return.
“Rural communities don’t have to be passive recipients of economic development.”
Challenges & opportunities
What have been the biggest challenges along the way, and how have you dealt with them?
Getting Beinn Ghrideag built in the first place was an enormous undertaking. The project had to overcome complex planning, financing and grid challenges before the turbines could begin generating.
Those challenges don’t disappear once a project is operational. Rural and island communities continue to face constraints around grid capacity, infrastructure, rising costs and the sustainability of local services.
Our approach has generally been to take a long-term view, work collaboratively and be prepared to adapt. Having our own income gives us more freedom to respond when circumstances change, but it also brings a responsibility to use that income carefully and sustainably.
What’s next for the Trust? Anything you’re excited about or hoping to grow?
We are continuing to look at how the income and experience generated through our community-owned wind farm can create lasting benefits. That includes developing our existing community projects and facilities, supporting community energy and exploring opportunities around the transition to a low-carbon economy. We are also developing work around local heritage and sustainable tourism, including Garrabost Mill, archaeological and heritage sites and the Point and Sandwick Trail.
More broadly, we want to keep asking the same question that led to Beinn Ghrideag in the first place: how can the resources and opportunities around us be used to create greater benefit for the people who live here.
Is there anything you’d like people reading this to take away, or any way you’d welcome others getting in touch or collaborating?
The main message is that rural communities don’t have to be passive recipients of economic development. Community ownership can allow places to retain wealth, make their own investment decisions and build assets and services which respond directly to local needs. Beinn Ghrideag shows what can happen when a community is able to turn a natural resource into a long-term community asset.
We are always interested in sharing experience with other communities and organisations working on community ownership, renewable energy and community wealth building — and in learning from what others are doing too.
For communities thinking about repowering
Scotland’s first wind farms are reaching the end of their working life.
As these sites come up for repowering, the Scottish Government’s pilot scheme with Forestry and Land Scotland gives communities priority access to ten wind farm sites on the national forest estate — with the chance to request a lease before the sites go to commercial tender.
If your community is weighing up that step, Point and Sandwick Trust shows what a community wealth building approach can bring: an income-generating asset the community owns, profits that stay local instead of leaving the area, and the freedom to put that money into what the community decides matters most — from tackling fuel poverty to backing local jobs, services and facilities.
Point and Sandwick Trust is a working example of the opportunity set out in the Rural Social Enterprise Hub’s report, Onshore Wind Repowering: Opportunities for Community Wealth Building in Argyll and Bute and beyond. To find out more about the Trust and the Beinn Ghrideag wind farm, visit pointandsandwick.co.uk.