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Isle of Skye Renewables Co-operative owns a stake in the Ben Aketil wind farm, 18km west of the town of Portree on the Isle of Skye.
The co-op purchased a stake in the wind farm from owners Nadara (formerly Falck Renewables and Renantis) in January 2008 after raising £812,137! In 2010 the members of the co-op were given the opportunity to purchase a further stake in 2 additional turbines on site.
We have more than 500 members, ordinary people from the Isle of Skye and a wider community of interest, who want to contribute to the clean energy transition whilst having a say in how development happens and helping to steer the benefits.
For the community
Since it was established in 2008 the Isle of Skye Renewables Co-op has generated more than £1.5m in community benefits through community ownership in the Ben Aketil Wind Farm. Community funding generated through the community ownership model has been utilised to deliver community benefit across Skye through distribution of interest to co-op members, award of grants to individuals, businesses and community and similar organisations as well as funds which remain within its community fund. These funds are in addition to the community benefit payments made directly by the wind farm's developer Nadara (formerly Falck Renewables and Renantis) to the Dunvegan Community Trust. Learn more about us and our aims.
The Site
The Ben Aketil wind farm site lies approximately 18 km west of the town of Portree on the Isle of Skye. The site covers a hilly region of generally open moorland to the northwestern end of the island with site elevations ranging from 90 m to 266 m along a gently sloping northwest to southeast ridge.
The Ben Aketil wind farm consists of twelve 2.3MW Enercon wind turbines. Erection of the turbines began in September and power started to be generated in November 2007. The twelve turbines generate enough clean, green energy to supply around 21,000 homes. Learn more about the site.