Project Benefits

NET ZERO:
• Supports the Scottish Government’s targets for renewable energy and solar generation.
• 30 MW of clean, green energy generation over a 40-year project lifespan.
• The project will deliver equivalent electricity to power approximately 8,600 homes.[1] • BESS ensures that excess renewable energy can be stored and used when demand is high, helping to stabilise local electricity grid.
• The estimated carbon dioxide (CO2) savings will be approximately 1,319 of CO2 each year.

[1] No. of homes powered = Annual kWh generated (taking into solar load factor of 10.8%) ÷ average UK domestic electricity consumption per household.

SOCIO-ECONOMIC BENEFITS:
• Local jobs during the construction and operation of the solar farm.
• A range of contracts are available for tender
• Opportunity to collaborate with local educational facilities and encourage young people to visit renewable energy projects and observe ecological enhancements and biodiversity on solar site.

COMMUNITY BENEFIT PRINCIPLES 

Community benefit offers are a well-established, integral part of many renewable energy projects. They represent a commitment by the developers to add value to the communities that host them and provide recognition of the community’s role in contributing towards UK and global targets to decarbonise our energy supply and put a stop to climate change.

Community Benefit Funds are offered on a voluntary basis by renewable developers as an act of good will and are not a material consideration in a planning application.

ib vogt UK is offering a Community Benefit Fund for the Stirches Renewable Energy Park project in line with the following principles:

• Provision of £400 per MW AC each year, for the 40-year lifetime of the project, index-linked.
• This benchmark value may take many forms, including community benefit offers of:
–  Non-financial, or ‘in-kind’ benefits (e.g. provision of solar panels for nearby properties, provision and maintenance of on-site interpretation or access improvements).
– An annual index-linked payment per MW AC for a set number of years or the operational lifetime of the project to be contributed into a fund managed by a third party.
– A combination of financial and non-financial benefits over a longer or shorter period, subject to the agreement of the community and ib vogt UK Ltd

• Benefits are to be provided no earlier than the date the project is connected to the electricity grid and exporting electricity.
• This policy is not applicable to battery storage capacity (where this forms part of the development).
• ib vogt UK reserves the right to make the final decision on what the benefit may and may not be used for and the frequency and timing of community benefit payments/provision.
• A working group has been set up to discuss priorities for the local community and how the fund will be managed.

More information on Community Benefit Funds can be found here:  https://localenergy.scot/community-benefits-toolkit/