Creating projects that are good for local communities
At FuturEnergy Ireland, we aim to build responsible projects that are good for us, for society and benefit our neighbours. We do this through managing the design and development in collaboration with internal and external stakeholders for results supported by both.
Our engagement objectives range from building relationships and trust, to creating an environment around our developments where we will be openly and warmly welcomed back in the future by stakeholders and communities alike.
What is a Community Benefit Fund and how does it work?
Castlebanny Wind Farm has the potential to bring significant positive benefits to local communities. The project will support local employment, it will contribute annual rates to the local authority and it will provide opportunity for a local Community Benefit Fund in the project in line with the new Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS).
The Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS) is a policy initiative to deliver on the Government’s Climate Action Plan. One key emphasis is that communities should benefit directly from all the renewable electricity projects being supported by the scheme.
An important feature of RESS is that all projects must establish a Community Benefit Fund to be used for the wider environmental, social and economic wellbeing of the local community, and the scheme puts communities at the heart of the decision-making.
The proposed Castlebanny Wind Farm project has the potential to participate in the Government’s Renewable Energy Support Scheme (RESS) auction process.
Please find an outline of the RESS Community Benefit Fund and a copy of the Government’s Community Benefit Fund Good Practice Principles Handbook here.
