Wind farms in Mayo need to pay more into community funds - councillor

WIND farms should be paying more into community benefit funds in Mayo as energy costs soar for residents and voluntary organisations.

The €2/megawatt payment is not linked to inflation, and increased contributions need to be negotiated, says Independent Councillor Harry Barrett.

A few months ago he sought a review of existing schemes and asked for negotiations for increased contributions to take place.

The payment currently being made is a minumum and there is nothing to prevent a company from paying more, he told the monthly meeting of Mayo County Council.

And he pointed out that the rule book says it is in the best interest of the generator to work with communities to increase public acceptable of renewable energy projects. This was about goodwill and partnership.

The €2/megawatt is frozen in time and shrinking every year, he commented, and it's starting to feel like the bare legal minimum rather than a genuine partnership with communities. Meanwhile Mayo is feeding data centres on the east coast, with wind farms making massive profits, while we face increased energy costs.

It was reasonable to ask the generators to show leadership and set higher standards in Mayo.

Councillor Barrett asked how they can open negotiations on this.

He went on to say that they can demand production data for every wind farm, and if they don't make inroads on the €2 increase, they had to start asking the hard questions.

Councillor Barrett again highlighted the plight of meals on wheels services, struggling with increased costs, and he said any increase in community benefit funds should be directed towards them.

Councillor Michael Loftus said turbines are turned off when we can't export their electricity out from the area, but the company gets paid extra money when that happens. That money doesn't go into a community fund but into their profits, and he had a problem with that.

If they aren't running, the community was also entitled to an extra community gain fund and that needs to be addressed, he said.

Chief executive Kevin Kelly said the point was well made about the rate being set a number of years ago and not being index linked, and it probably requires a change at national level and how it is set.

Voluntary increasing doesn't work. If a company can pay €2 as required they won't give €5.

Demanding the production data, Councillor Barrett said there was nothing in the documentation to stop them asking for more. It's a floor, not a ceiling, he stated, and they can ask for more, with the €2 rate diminishing in value year on year.

* Funded under the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme