Find out how shared ownership in renewables can benefit communities
Soirbheas
Managing Community Funds
How you can make the best use of income coming into your community from renewable energy projects.
Across Scotland, communities like yours are receiving income from energy schemes to spend in the local area. Here we offer advice on how to manage a fund. Depending on what you want to achieve there are various models of ownership and fund management available.
There are three main options for managing a fund:
Models for fund management
- Management by the community: the community sets up its own organisation or uses another suitable existing one
- Management by a broker: the community engages an agency to manage the fund
- Management by the local authority: the local authority distributes funds (commercial wind farms only)
The way that funds are managed are closely linked to the development ownership:
Models of ownership
- Community owned: project is developed and owned by a community organisation
- Joint ventures: a development which pools the resources of a community group and a commercial company
- Project under private ownership: project is owned by commercial renewable energy company
A guide to investing in your community
A step by step guide to the various models of ownership and fund management. Their pros and cons and all the things you need to think about to make the best use of community funds.
Communities benefiting from renewable energy income
See our case studies of communities who have renewables projects