Wind farms invested €340,000 in Mayo communities in 2020
EDUCATION initiatives, third-level scholarships, sports clubs and active retired groups were just some of the schemes to benefit from over €4 million in community benefit funding from Irish wind farms in 2020. The figures were released in a new report from Wind Energy Ireland.
The report identified the top five counties for wind energy community benefit funding. Galway leads the way with €844,334, followed by Cork on €437,478, Kerry on €381,693, Mayo on €341,600 and Tipperary on €281,767.
Noel Cunniffe, CEO of Wind Energy Ireland, said: “Communities around the country receive a huge amount of money each year through wind farm community benefit funds. This report shows the steady growth of our renewable energy sector which last year contributed over €4 million to local communities in direct benefit funding. This is on top of the more than 5,000 jobs which wind energy is supporting in Ireland and the substantial contribution to local Council rates.
“These community funds support initiatives, clubs, sports and academic ambitions in the local area. It is especially heartening to see the benefits communities felt during a difficult 2020 because of Covid, with the funds supporting care services, home comforts, and promoting exercise throughout counties in Ireland.
“It is so important for people living close to wind farms to feel and see the direct benefits, not just in cleaner electricity and the wider climate change benefits, but in day-to-day improvements to their towns and villages.”
Benefit funding to rise
The level of community benefit funding is expected to rise in coming years as new wind farms connect to the system and with the introduction of the government’s Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS).
Projects seeking support under the RESS will be required to contribute €2 for every megawatt-hour (MWh) of electricity produced, which will typically result in over €15,000 per turbine going directly towards local community projects every year.