Triodos Bank backs pioneering community wind turbine project with £11.4m investment

A £11.4 million investment from Triodos Bank has provided funds to Fyne Homes to build a three-turbine development in Argyll and Bute that aims to generate £15.6 million of community and charitable benefit over the next 20 years.

The project is only the second project of its kind and has comes following a decade of planning.

The 6.9-megawatt windfarm will to produce enough clean energy to power around 4000 households, following the Triodos Bank investment.

Developers said the bank had been chosen as the project’s main financial supporter due to the its experience in renewable and social lending.

Triodos was also involved in the only other such project of its type in Scotland, a wind farm in the Border,s officially launched last year, which will create enough revenue for Berwickshire Housing Association (BHA) to build 500 new homes over the next 25 years.

The Scottish Investment Bank, the investment arm of Scotland’s enterprise agencies, has also provided £2.82 million of investment for the Fyne Homes project via the Renewable Energy Investment Fund. Initial support for the project was provided by the Community and Renewable Energy Scheme.

Kerry Sharp, director of the Scottish Investment Bank, said: “After ten years of development, we are delighted to help secure this investment in Scotland. Projects like Fyne Energy play an important part in helping grow Scotland’s renewable energy generation capability and provide meaningful, long term revenue for communities which can then be used to support housing, jobs and other local priorities.”

Energy minister Paul Wheelhouse added: “I am delighted that the Scottish Government has been able to support the Fyne Homes project through our flagship Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES) delivered on our behalf by Local Energy Scotland. Community benefit is a valuable source of income for local communities located near renewable developments, and it is fantastic that this project will generate significant benefits for Argyll and Bute residents for many years to come, while also providing new revenue to support Fyne Homes’ investment programme to meet local housing priorities.”