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Community body up against French government connection   3/5/12

The largest community-owned wind farm in the UK, which would be built on Lewis, is still up against a stumbling block from a French government owned company.

Lewis Windpower, which is jointly owned by owned by the former French nationilised electricity corporation Electricite de France (EDF) amd Amec has control over developments on crofters grazing in part of the Stornoway Trust estate.

The energy company has not agreed a lease to allow community turbines to be erected on the Point and Sandwick common grazings by the Pentland Road.  

The issue has been highlighted at the community energy body’s annual meeting.

Donald John Macsween, chair of  Point and Sandwick Trust, asked why are “multi-nationals and multi-millionaires flocking to Lewis to persuade us to sign away our land into their hands?  The answer: because the wind that blows across that land is the one of the most valuable resources in Britain.

“In Point and Sandwick Trust, we have a completely different approach to the development and use of our land.  We believe that it should be developed, owned and used by the community for the benefit of the community.  It is that simple.  That is why we have stuck to our task over the past seven years, and why we will not rest until our three community turbines are up and running next year.”

Over the past seven years the local group had to fight for the “fundamental right to use the community land for the good of the community, instead for the benefit of multinationals and millionaires,” he added.

He said: “We estimate that we will be paying the Stornoway Trust £90,000 a year once we start operating next January, and a further £50,000 a year to Sandwick North Street.  I believe that will make us by far the single biggest source of income for the Stornoway Trust.”

“Unfortunately, however, under the terms of the lease held by Amec-EDF over the Stornoway Trust estate, Amec have a big say over developments that take place on our community land.  And I have to report that getting our lease approved by Amec has proved a lot harder, taken a lot longer, and will cost us a lot more money, than we had hoped or expected.”

He added: “New conditions and requirements are constantly being asked of us.”

Point and Sandwick Trust has a deal to borrow £13.6 million from the Cooperative bank for a loan of £13.6 million to build its windfarm, once Lewis Windpower sanctions its lease.