What is a Community Benefit Fund and should it influence your opinion on MachairWind?
Whether a community supports or opposes an offshore wind development should rely on its assessment of the wind farm’s environmental, cultural, social and economic impacts. Community benefit funding is not designed to shape whether a community supports or opposes a wind farm development like MachairWind.
The Scottish Government is explicit that community benefits must sit entirely outside planning and licensing. They are not compensation, not a bargaining tool, and not a mechanism for securing public support. They should not be treated as compensation for environmental or cultural loss. Their purpose is to ensure that, if a wind farm is approved, host communities can share in some of the long‑term economic value it generates, not to offset the wind farm’s impacts.
For some people, the promise of community benefit funding inevitably shapes how they feel about a development. That is understandable in small island communities where modest funding can support important local projects. But when financial offers are considered alongside discussions about landscape, culture and environmental impact, it can blur the lines.
We believe that keeping those two conversations separate is a sound principle.
What are the Community Benefit Funds for MachairWind?
There has been a lot of discussion and confusion about what community benefits are on offer in relation to the MachairWind wind farm.
There are two types of benefits on offer to the five “host” islands impacted by MachairWind. These are The Supply Chain Stimulus Fund and The Community Benefit Fund.
The Supply Chain Stimulus Fund: This is sometimes referred to as the business sector support fund. SPR has announced on the MachairWind website that it has already confirmed that they will be investing £25 million in a Supply Chain Stimulus Fund as part of the MachairWind Project. The amount from this fund, which is allocated locally across Argyll and Bute is:
- a Small Donations Fund offering up to £500 grants the “host” islands
- five apprenticeships across Argyll and Bute
- a proposed £500,000 capacity fund across the 25 year lifespan of MachairWind = £20,000 per year across the entire council area.
The Community Benefits Fund: This will become available for the “host” communities once MachairWind starts operating, assuming it gets consent. In the UK and Scotland, community benefits from renewable energy developers are voluntary contributions and are not currently mandated by statutory law. They are typically offered as a gesture of goodwill to support local groups, enhance community projects, and foster local engagement throughout the operational lifespan of the project.
SPR states on the MachairWind website that “The MachairWind Community Benefit Fund will be available to our host island communities – Islay, Jura, Colonsay, Ross of Mull and Iona. The value of the fund has not yet been set, which is typical at the pre‑consent stage, as final project decisions and government guidance are still to come. Last year, both the Scottish Government and the UK Government consulted on the approach to offshore wind community benefits – we await their recommendations”
This reinforces the core principle that communities cannot base their support or opposition to MachairWind on benefits they cannot quantify and should not be asked to.
There is something very wrong about communities not being told the level of benefits they might receive until the MachairWind wind farm is operational. For the islands affected by MachairWind, the question is not how large any future fund might be, but whether any mitigation could ever balance what stands to be lost.
A Community Benefit Fund may help communities share value if a development proceeds but it cannot, and should not, be used to justify the impacts themselves.