RWE’s £5 million community investment is upskilling lives in rural Scotland

·       RWE marks £5 million donated over 15 years to community funds in Scotland

·       Flexible financial support has benefited a wide range of local people, groups and infrastructure

·       Bad á Cheò Wind Farm education & training fund provides residents with opportunities to upskill and increase employment potential

RWE, one of the world’s leading renewable energy companies, has reached the milestone of donating £5 million over 15 years, through its community funds set up at projects it operates in Scotland. The community funds help charities and causes to thrive and supports local communities.

The funds, which are made available in local areas surrounding RWE’s renewable energy projects, are provided directly to local groups and causes to help enhance and improve the services they provide, with projects spanning education and training, sustainability, health and wellbeing support, and community facilities.

This money goes a long way to supporting the sustainable development of the communities in which renewable projects are located. Hundreds of projects and communities have already been supported across Scotland with many other projects ready to be funded across the country.

RWE has a proud history of renewable development and working with local communities in Scotland. Today RWE operates 10 onshore wind farms across Scotland, with 14 more in development and construction, and continues to operate Scotland’s first commercial-scale offshore wind farm, Robin Rigg.

In total, RWE operates 26 sites in Scotland with many employees living locally. In addition to Community Funds, RWE is committed to offering community shared ownership at many of the projects in development.

The funding process is flexible and easily accessible, with decisions about funding allocations made by a panel of local representatives who know their communities best.

A number of examples of positive, grass roots projects funded by RWE’s Community Funds, including causes such as:

1 – Education and training fund supported by Bad á Cheò Onshore Wind Farm

Bad á Cheò Onshore Wind Farm Education and Training fund is open to residents living closest to the wind farm and provides bursaries to local people to access training and education opportunities that better equip them with the range of skills required to enter into, or retain, employment in key sectors. To date it has awarded nearly £50,000.

Taking advantage of the fund, the first two beneficiaries, Zoe Farquhar and Louise Todd, both undertook courses that increased their ability to generate more income and work for themselves.

Zoe Farquharson undertook an Introduction to Kiltmaking course, to enable her to meet a demand locally for handmade kilts by participants in Highland Dance Schools as well as sympathetic repairs to older garments. Louise Todd formalised her accountancy skills by taking a professional bookkeeping course that enabled her to increase the services her business could offer.

Thirty-five local people have received funding towards courses as diverse as childcare, sign language, deer stalking, welding inspection, accountancy and kilt making, or to assist them with costs whilst completing university education.

2 – Helping communities on their journey to net zero by supporting community energy projects

The An Suidhe Onshore Wind Farm Community Fund provided an investment in equity (share ownership) towards the River Avich Community Hydro Scheme. Providing financial support to the project while enabling a return of 4% back to the An Suidhe Wind Farm Community Fund.

This was the first investment in a community-owned renewable project from a community benefit fund in Scotland and an exciting example of how an area can achieve its renewable energy ambitions whilst continuously reinvesting in local initiatives.

Katy Woodington, Community Investment Manager UK & Ireland, said: “This is an important milestone, which represents the significant difference that renewable energy can make to people’s day to day lives as well as the planet.

“Funds are set up with decisions made by local people, so it is great to see them making the most of these flexible funds to support innovative projects, push boundaries and help realise their ambitions.”

There are additional long standing community and societal benefits that have been provided as a result of RWE’s green developments including a significant boost to local and regional supply chains, and supporting the development of high skilled, well-paid jobs and training programmes.

To date, RWE, which directly employs around 100 people in Scotland, has invested over £180 million in the country and recently confirmed its participation in the ScotWind seabed leasing round process, as we look to expand our global offshore wind portfolio.

RWE is the third largest renewable generator in the UK with the largest renewable project pipeline including the construction of the 1.4 GW Sofia and 857 MW Triton Knoll offshore wind farms. RWE is also progressing four extension projects in the UK, with a combined potential installed capacity of around 2.6 GW (RWE’s pro rata share: 1.3 GW.)

Furthermore, we successfully bid for two new adjacent offshore sites on Dogger Bank, developing some of the world’s most advanced offshore wind farms, in support of government net zero ambitions.

To find out more about RWE’s Community Funds, and the local projects and causes that they help to support, visit our Community finding in action page.