Wind Farm

In Scandinavia, where wind power provides nearly a third of the country’s energy needs, social enterprises have a well-established role. The concept of community involvement rather than private finance is common in Europe, the largest example being the 40MW offshore wind farm, Middlegrunden in Denmark that has over 8,000 members.

Using the renewable energy models pioneered in Scandinavia, the Baywind Energy Co-operative was formed in 1996 to offer community ownership of the Harlock Hill wind farm project in Cumbria.

A successful energy generating business, now in its eighth year, Baywind invests a proportion of its profit in promoting energy saving among schools and the local community. See http://www.socialenterprise.org.uk/cms/Page.aspx?SP=1690