Findhorn

Findhorn Eco Village, Moray
A Windfarm development which has provided enough electricity to meet the needs of the Findhorn Foundation's 250 residents has been completed. Construction of the 600,000 project at the Moray eco-village community began in November, when three second-hand turbines from Denmark arrived.

They are now in place and were commissioned in January 2006.  Moray Council's environmental services committee approved the windfarm plans by Findhorn Windpark Ltd January 2005.

The 225kW turbines, each about 150ft high, are situated next to the community's existing turbine, which was built more than 15 years ago on a site near RAF Kinloss at Duneland.  The foundation attracts about 4,000 visitors annually, and power from the single turbine has produced about 10% of the community's needs.

Combined, the small-scale windfarm  produces between 75% and 100% of the electricity used at the Findhorn Foundation. 

A Moray renewables project, which started life in 1991 with a 75 kW wind turbine, is about to become a net exporter of electricity. Alex Walker reports...

This project started 15 years ago when New Findhorn Directions Ltd erected a 75 kW Vestas V17 wind turbine.

Success story

The turbine has been extremely successful and reliable, providing about 20% of the electricity (or about 10% of the overall energy consumption) of the Park Ecovillage at Findhorn.

And the initial phase was also financially successful, repaying the initial investment of 75,000 in approximately five years.

New turbines

Three additional second hand Vestas V29 turbines have now been erected, each capable of delivering 225kW, giving a total installed capacity of 750 kW.

With support from the Scottish Community and Householder Renewables Initiative (SCHRI), a planning application was submitted in June 2004 and a planning permit was received in January 2005 after a public hearing.

The expansion has been undertaken by Findhorn Wind Park Ltd, a new company created to undertake this venture, and has cost circa 600,000.

Collaboration

The project is a collaboration between the original turbine operators, Ekopia Ltd (the local development trust) and Caledonia Energy Co-operative, which is part of the Energy4All group.

Discussions with Highlands and Islands Community Energy Company (HICEC) were very positive but as the project was already well underway when the Community Energy Company was formed, the turbine purchase went ahead without financial involvement from that source. DMH Blacksmiths of Inverness completed construction in January and production has commenced this month.

Net exporters

These additional turbines will make the Ecovillage net exporters of electricity. About 75% of the electricity produced will be used on-site on a private grid and the remainder will be distributed to the main grid.

The Findhorn project is similar both technically and financially to that on Gigha, these two community-owned wind parks both having three Vestas 225kW turbines.

Although Gigha is significantly windier it does not have its own grid. Findhorn wind park will thus produce fewer units of electricity but the average price per unit it receives will be higher.

The expansion of wind turbines is part of an evolving environmental remit of Findhorn EcoVillage.