Community Benefit
An integral part of our work with communities is the promotion of Community Benefit Funds associated with projects which have the potential to support the already brilliant work that individuals and groups are doing in their local areas to reinvigorate communities for decades to come.
Our Approach
At Statkraft, we aim to develop and maintain strong relationships in the communities where we work. Engagement begins at the early stages of the development process and runs right through the project life cycle, as we believe successfully delivering these projects requires a partnership based on trust and compromise. During the consultation process, our objective is not to seek support for the proposal but to provide information to allow you to develop your own considered opinion, based on accurate information, on what this proposal has to offer. As this process develops, we will continue to work with you to ensure that this wind farm delivers effective climate action while also delivering for the local area.
We aim to visit all residents within a 1.6km radius of a project that we are developing so that local people can meet the project's dedicated Community Liaison Officer, discuss the project and provide feedback which is used to inform the project design.
Our Community Liaison Team do a minimum of two rounds of door-to-door engagement:
- The first to introduce the project and gather feedback from the community when the project design is under consideration
- The second to present the final project design into which the community feedback has been incorporated before it is submitted to the planning authority.
An integral part of our work with communities is the promotion of Community Benefit Funds associated with projects. These funds, allocated under the Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS), have the potential to support the already brilliant work that individuals and groups are doing in their local areas to reinvigorate communities for decades to come.
The Community Benefit Fund for the Islandmore project would be circa €3.79 million over a 15 year period.
Our Community Liaison Team are always available to meet local residents and/or community groups to discuss any aspect of the project. You can reach out to the dedicated Community Liaison Officer using the contact information available on our Contact Us page. We also encourage providing your feedback through our Project Feedback Form.
The CBF
The Community Benefit Fund (CBF) is a government mandated fund, specifically for wind and solar projects in Ireland. The amount of the fund is determined by the energy generation of the project in question, of which 2 euro of every MW/h generated by the project is put into the CBF. This ensures that the benefits of the project can be shared directly with the community hosting the project.
See how the CBF has been used in communities where we work:
Working with Communities
CBF - Key Facts
Some key facts in relation to the Islandmore Community Benefit Fund (CBF):
- There is €250,000 available annually for 15 years – i.e. €3.97 million total
- Up to 50% of the fund can go towards Near Neighbour Payments (it will be the committee made up of local people that will decide how much and to how many households this will apply to)
- 10% of the fund will be put toward a fund manager e.g. SECAD Partnership CLG or https://www.changex.org/ie
- The rest would/should be spent on community initiatives, which should align with the https://sdgs.un.org/goals - the more aligned they are to improving environmental, social or cultural wellbeing and the closer they are to the project the more successful they will be in securing funding.
- This handbook contains more info on the organisation of RESS Funding and how CBFs work.
For more information on the CBF – see the CBF handbook
Other related funding sources available for communities :
https://communityfinanceireland.com/
Sustainable Energy Communities | SEAI
RISE Community Fund - Rise Global Foundation
https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/96110-small-scale-generation/