Community Benefits

Our Commitment to Communities 

Community Windpower is proud to have donated £6.5 million to host communities. We are committed to maintaining strong working relationships with the local host communities, to provide communities with lasting economic, social and environmental benefits. 


We have explored a number of options for community assets and funding as part of the community benefits programme. More details on the community benefits for Sanquhar II can be found in the Commitment To Communities report,  here. The additional information also includes an update to some statements made in the original Commitment To Communities report, this can be found here.

£255,000 Covid-19 Crisis Fund

Community Windpower responded to the ongoing Covid-19 crisis by making £255,000 of funds available to local communities in or near our seven wind farms.


We’re working with our teams at BeGreen Dunbar and Dalry, along with various community councils and the Dalry Parish Boundary Trust, to ensure funds are made available to organisations who need it most.


The financial support is through both money diverted from wind farm community benefit funds and directly from Community Windpower itself.


Diane Wood, community benefits director at Community Windpower, said: “We’re living in worrying and unprecedented times for everyone, and now is the time we need to dig deep and help people in communities that are being negatively impacted by this crisis."


We work closely with communities to deliver on our promise to make positive social, economic and environmental change over the lifetime of our wind farms.

We work closely with communities to deliver on our promise to make positive social, economic and environmental change over the lifetime of our wind farms.

Below you can find some examples of what we have accomplished with our host communities, in other areas. 

Girl Guiding Activity Centre, Dalry

In 2018, the new Activity Centre at the, Blair Girl Guiding site in Dalry was completed. CWL provided the single largest donation of £100,000 to the project. The new activity centre will provide an extension to the existing site. 

Scout Hall, Dalry

Expected to be finished in 2020, CWL are proud to be the primary investors of the new Dalry Scout Hall. The new Scout hut will be the home to the 55th Dalry Scout Group.

BeGreen, Dunbar

The BeGreen Dunbar Energy Advice Centre, opened in 2008, receives funding from Aikengall Community Wind Farm. So far BeGreen Dunbar has donated over £1 million to the local area including; schools, community groups, solar grants and household energy saving renovations.

BeGreen, Dalry

Ranger Pete provides the link between the community and the benefits programme through Dalry (Wardlaw Wood) Community Wind Farm. He liaise with local schools, providing educational talks and activities on the environment and climate change. Pete also works with the Dalry Parish Boundary Trust, to distribute the community benefit fund from the Millour Hill Community Wind Farms.

West College Scotland

CWL has established a long term partnership with West College Scotland. CWL have offered student placements for West College Scotland for 7 years, allowing students to gain work experience in the onshore wind industry. 

Upper Nithsdale Community Trust

CWL were the first to make a significant contribution to the Upper Nithsdale Community Trust in 2018. The trust manages the community benefit fund from our Sanquhar Community Wind Farm on behalf of two Community Councils; Kelloholm and Kirkconnel and the Royal Burgh of Sanquhar and District.


Projects supported by the trust’s use of our community benefit fund include charitable, educational, community environmental, renewable energy, energy efficiency, sustainable development and general community amenity, whether capital or revenue.


West College Scotland

CWL has established a long term partnership with West College Scotland. CWL have offered student placements for West College Scotland for 7 years, allowing students to gain work experience in the onshore wind industry. 

Upper Nithsdale Community Trust

CWL were the first to make a significant contribution to the Upper Nithsdale Community Trust, which recently awarded the first round of funding to local societies and organisations. £43,000 of funding was awarded to more than 20 groups and individuals.  
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