Northfield wind turbine, Burray

Orkney has a long history of wind energy production, but for many years the full benefits were not always reaching the local community. Conventional projects typically offered landowners around five per cent of generation revenue, and while local companies were involved in design and commissioning, the profits from many projects flowed to organisations outside the islands.

The Burray project marked a turning point. It was initiated as a farm diversification by the partners of Northfield Farms in Burray and the idea taken to the Orkney Renewable Energy Forum, a group formed by people committed to renewable energy development in the islands, in order to raise involvement and investment in the project. One partner, who was a forum member and whose son owned and managed the land at The Northfield, suggested that local companies could design and deliver a project owned by the community. A dedicated company was established, and planning consent for a single wind turbine was granted in 2002, creating a mechanism for local ownership.

The project was fully funded by local investment, ensuring that revenues remained within Orkney. A percentage of the profits are distributed each year to local organisations and charities. The annual income from the turbine, after construction and maintenance costs, has been far greater than the sums typically available to landowners and communities under conventional schemes, demonstrating how locally owned wind developments can maximise returns to the community while aiming to limit environmental and social impacts.

Managed by Orkney Renewable Energy Ltd and involving 30 local shareholders, the Burray 850kW Vestas V52 has been a sustained success with an average output of around 377kW, a capacity factor of 44%, and at full power, satisfying the peak demand of the whole of Burray and South Ronaldsay. It is one of the most productive turbines of its size in the world. Between 2005 and the end of 2025 it produced more than 66,000 MWh of electricity, evidence of what community-led renewable energy can achieve.