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Contact Soirbheas at info@soirbheas.org.


Q & A

Who owns Soirbheas? As a company limited by guarantee, Soirbheas doesn’t have shareholders in the way that most companies do. It has been formed for the express purpose of owning and operating, through a trading company wholly-owned by Soirbheas, a wind turbine for the benefit of the community, so all members of the community are stakeholders. Soirbheas is one wind turbine of a total of five to be erected at Corrimony.

What are the directors of Soirbheas paid? The directors of Soirbheas are all volunteers and have given up their time for no charge. From time to time they incur expenses on behalf of Soirbheas, which are reimbursed, but otherwise they receive no money at all from the company.

Where is the money to fund Soirbheas coming from? Until the windfarm is built and generating electricity, Soirbheas will have no income. The costs of operating Soirbheas in the meantime are being funded by a variety of grants from Community Energy Scotland and the lottery fund. Once planning permission has been granted and the scheme reaches the construction phase, Soirbheas will seek to raise money from bank loans and grants. At the present time due to the huge cost involved, the community will not be asked to financially support the project.

How will the bank loan be repaid? The bank loan, which will be secured on the assets of Soirbheas’i.e the wind turbine – will be repaid from the money earned from generating electricity. Over time, it is intended that the bank loan will be paid down, increasing the funds available to be spent on community projects.

Will the community have any responsibility for paying down the bank loan? No. If for whatever reason Soirbheas is unable to meet its obligations to the bank, there will be no recourse to the community.

How much money will be needed? It is difficult to predict how much money will be needed until we know when the wind farm will actually be built.

What will the money be used for? All we know right now is that the money will be spent for the benefit of the local community. Local people will have a say both in Soirbheas’ general terms of operation will be and in proposing specific projects for funding.

Will I get cheaper electricity? Unfortunately not, or at least not as a result of Soirbheas. In the long term, decreasing reliance on fossil fuels should certainly reduce the environmental cost to us all, however.

What else is needed before the wind farm can become operational? Time, energy, ideas, enthusiasm! Soirbheas exists for the community and so every contribution, whether it is a suggestion for how money should be raised, or indeed spent, or funds to help finance the wind turbine, will be greatly appreciated.

Will there be any jobs created locally? Not directly, but it is hoped the infrastructure and construction will be sourced locally.

Why do we need a wind farm in our community? Wind is a valuable resource in Scotland’s quest to reduce its reliance on carbon-intensive energy sources. No matter what we think about global warming – and there is a great deal of scientific evidence to suggest that we should take this very seriously – it’s clear that oil and gas won’t last for ever. Small-scale, local wind generation schemes provide one means of generating electricity with a low carbon cost. Obviously, wind farms are dependent on the wind and so won’t run every day of the year, but when combined with the hydro-electric schemes in our area, we will certainly be doing our bit.