Plugged In

It was Fintry that started it.

They realised that instead of the normal knee-jerk reaction of opposing a wind farm on their doorstep, they could actually make it work for the community. So they leased a turbine and sat back to reap the rewards.

And those rewards have been substantial for the villagers - an income of £200,000 in the first two years which paid to have homes insulated and other renewable energy devices looked at.

Now communities up and down Scotland are looking at Fintry's example and wondering if it can work for them. The recently announced Portobello turbine would provide funds for the locals in the same way that Gigha's wind turbines do.

But they're nothing compared to the six schemes in the Western Isles which were yesterday given permission to connect to the National Grid. They could bring in an eye-watering £2.5 million a year into the local economy.

In these tight times when local councils are scaling back services and the UK government is laughing at anyone unlucky enough not to have a trust fund, a community has to embrace the opportunities that these schemes can bring.