Building trust through engagement, transparency and teamwork

MUIRHALL INVESTMENT TO DATE

£4,253,053

Our Passion for the Community

Encouraging Engagement, Building Trust and Transparency, Empowering Communities and Creating Lasting Legacies

Muirhall Energy strongly believes that community involvement should be an integral part of any wind farm development process and so our work with communities is fundamental to every project we undertake.

Through engagement at the earliest stages of any development, we aim to create open, positive and mutually beneficial relationships with residents, businesses and organisations which are then strengthened and maintained throughout the lifespan of the project.

Our track record speaks for itself

£5,000 per Megawatt in terms of Community Investment, but this is often only the beginning of our community commitment.

Community Ownership
We work to offer up to 10% shared ownership with the local community on the larger wind farms we develop. This is on top of the minimum £5,000 community investment for every MW installed which rises to £7,000 per MW on larger sites.
Community ownership greatly increases the potential for community funding and is additional to, not instead of, the Community Investment money.

Initial Investment Funds for larger projects
Muirhall Energy recognises and acknowledges that windfarm developments can be disruptive for localities close to site during the construction phase and so we have established an initial investment fund protocol for our larger developments to help mitigate any adverse effects experienced by local people and businesses. These funds open to applications from community groups as construction begins and, with timely assessment and disbursement, have proved to be an important funding source for many groups and organisations.

£5,000 to Lockerbie Ice Rink and Curling School, for new curling equipment such as brushes, pads, sliders and delivery sticks; and to allow all children’s coaching sessions to be free for the 2019/20 season.
£3,000 to Langholm Playcare for; 1) enhancing small outside play area by upgrading the surfacing, erecting a child-friendly barrier and purchasing a two-way walkie talkie system, and 2) to purchase a CCTV system to enhance safety and security.
£5,000 towards the Lockerbie Gala Day.
£5,000 to Waterbeck Church, to go towards refurbishment costs.
£1,125 to Lockerbie Girl Guides, to pay for patio tables and a fire pit for outdoor cooking in the garden outside their building. £5,000 to Langholm Pipe Band, to pay for new equipment and clothing, such as kilts, jackets, Glengarrys and drumsticks.

To see a full list of IIF recipients, please click here.

To see a full list of IIF recipients, please click here.

Broadband ‘Deal'
It is our belief that connectivity is crucial in rural communities.

Due to the scale and nature of our developments, we require superfast broadband to allow our sites to operate at full capacity. For Muirhall, this means installing fibre to rural locations which have had limited or no connectivity in the past.

At some of our current projects, and in order to assist in retaining and attracting young people and families to the area, Muirhall has proposed to the grid operators delivering fibre broadband to the premises (FTTP) along the grid route.

If this is adopted at our developments, it has the potential to deliver  FTTP to schools, village halls, businesses, residential properties and crofts. We anticipate bringing superfast broadband to the areas surrounding all Muirhall wind projects in future.

Sponsorship and Support
Supporting good causes and effective, local charities is another key element of our community commitments. Muirhall Energy is proud to deliver ongoing sponsorship for RSABI – Scotland’s charity for helping people who have lived and worked on the land, and The Haven Centre, Forth – a Lanarkshire charity offering support for those with life-limiting illnesses.

Other ongoing sponsorship commitments include 3 year agreements with Hawick Youth Rugby Club, North West Skye FC and the Isle of Skye Half Marathon. Muirhall Energy has also committed to the sponsorship of our local Carnwath Agricultural Show for 5 years and have been helping to support the switch on of the Lockerbie Christmas Lights since 2016. A donation to Lockerbie Rotary Club during the COVID pandemic in 2020 has allowed them to create ‘trains’ from recycled whisky barrels and distribute them to local schools for use in their playgrounds.