The Scotsman
28 May 2026
cotland’s largest community-owned wind farm has accused the Scottish Government of a “gross policy failure” in its renewable energy strategy after a new report published figures on profits in the sector.
The study, by think tank Centre for Local Economies (CLE), found that communities across Scotland received just £147 million from onshore wind developers over five years, compared with £5.6 billion in profits generated by the industry.
CLE, funded by Uplift, Community Land Scotland and Community Energy Scotland, claimed many communities received less than the Scottish Government’s recommended level of community benefit, while some received nothing at all.
A typical 25MW wind farm paying the industry standard of £5,000 per MW of installed capacity per year could deliver £3.75 million of funding to be redistributed among the community, though a new report argues many communities are missing out on the payment, which is only voluntary.
Current guidance advises developers to pay communities £5,000 per megawatt annually in recognition of the impact of living alongside wind farms. The payments, however, are voluntary. Residents have long raised concerns over construction disruption, noise and light pollution, while campaigners have repeatedly argued that the figure, set in 2014, is outdated.
The report, Blown Away: Following the Money in Scotland’s Onshore Wind Sector, was published ahead of a Holyrood energy debate on Thursday.
Calum MacDonald, director of Point and Sandwick Trust on Lewis, which owns Scotland’s largest community-owned wind farm, said: “We have seen 20 years of gross policy failure at all levels in Scotland, which has resulted in just 1 per cent of Scotland’s onshore wind farms being community-owned and able to return profits to their local economies, whereas in Denmark the figure is 50 per cent.
“That is the target the Scottish and UK governments should now be aiming for, so that the next generation of wind farms adds to the national wealth rather than extracting from it.”
The paper examined 105 operational wind farms with published accounts covering the financial years 2019-20 to 2023-24, representing around half of Scotland’s installed onshore wind capacity.
Researchers found the sites generated £2.83 billion in post-tax profits during the period, with almost 90 per cent — £2.49 billion — distributed as dividends to corporate shareholders.
Extrapolated across the wider sector, the report estimated that £4.1 billion in dividends may have been paid to shareholders, including more than £700 million linked to private equity firms or tax havens.
The study also examined the financial return to communities hosting wind farms over the five-year period, and found 261 developers paid a combined £147 million in community benefits.
According to the report, had the government’s £5,000 per M/W guidance been followed, communities would have received closer to £238 million — equivalent to 1.6 per cent of estimated sector turnover or 5.7 per cent of shareholder dividends.
Landowners, meanwhile, were estimated to have earned between £190 million and £380 million in rental income over the same period. Because company accounts rarely disclosed rental payments, researchers estimated likely returns per installed megawatt. They concluded that landowner payments were equivalent to around 2 per cent of turnover, 5 per cent of post-tax profits and 7 per cent of dividends.
The report drew on Who Owns Scotland data and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s Renewable Energy Planning Database to identify landowners linked to wind farm sites. Ownership data was available for 197 of the 337 sites analysed, accounting for around 80 per cent of Scotland’s installed capacity.
Researchers said community-owned schemes delivered significantly greater local benefit. Four community-owned wind farms recorded combined post-tax profits of £8.11 million between 2022 and 2024 — equivalent to £130,569 per megawatt annually, or 26 times the Scottish Government’s recommended community benefit payment. None of the profits were distributed to shareholders, the report noted, with funds instead reinvested in local projects and services.
A further four community-owned schemes shared data showing £10.2 million in community payments over the past three years, equivalent to £261,723 per megawatt annually — more than 50 times the recommended £5,000 payment, the report said.
Mr MacDonald said the Trust’s 9MW wind farm on Lewis had returned £10 million to the local community over the past decade. He contrasted that with Whitelee Wind Farm, Britain’s largest corporate-owned wind farm, operated by ScottishPower Renewables, a subsidiary of Spanish energy company Iberdrola. Although Whitelee is around 60 times larger than the Lewis windfarm, it has paid roughly £9 million to local communities over the same period.
Graeme Murray, chairman of Cowal Community Energy in Argyll and Bute, said the report’s findings underlined the need for greater community ownership of energy infrastructure in Scotland.
“Whether that is through communities building stand-alone wind farms or taking substantial stakes in corporate developments, the aim should be to ensure profits flow back into local and national economies,” he said.
Mr Murray said eight local development trusts on the Cowal peninsula had formed Cowal Community Energy in an effort to secure up to a 49 per cent stake in two proposed wind farms.
“We would recommend communities across Scotland start doing likewise,” he added.
On Skye, Ben Aketil Wind Farm, owned by a private equity firm based in the Cayman Islands, has paid about £700,000 into the local community it 16 years.
Local resident and campaigner Andrew Robinson said: “Meanwhile £51 million in profits went to the owners in the Cayman Islands.”
The island, Scotland’s most visited location outside Edinburgh, has seen fierce backlash to an increase in turbines across its landscape.
Mr Robinson, who is a lead member of the campaign group Skye Windfarm Information Group, said: “Skye already generates ten times the electricity it needs from the two existing wind farms. Yet there are planning applications and plans from private companies - at least one owned by another overseas government - to build at least five more wind farms here.”
Liam Hainey, a spokesperson for Our Power campaign, a coalition of community and environment organisations, said: “We’ve heard this story before; ministers need to learn the lessons of the oil and gas boom when most of Scotland was short changed and private interests were the biggest winners.
“There’s no excuse for the new Scottish Government to be passive, it has significant powers at its disposal to build a fairer energy system that delivers for everyone in the country.”
Stephen Gethins, Minister for Europe, External Affairs and Energy at the Scottish Government said community owned energy and benefits are central to the Scottish Government’s just transition plans.
“Over £30 million in community benefits was offered in 2025 under our Good Practice Principles,” he said.
“Since its inception, our Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES) has advised over 2,000 organisations and provided over £83 million in funding to communities throughout Scotland, supporting over 1,200 projects and the installation of 75MW of renewable energy.”
The minister said CARES funding will increase to £15 million annually.
Megan Amundson, of Scottish Renewables, the trade association for Scotland's renewable energy industry, said: “The methodology in this report does not reflect the significant changes in market conditions between older projects supported through Renewable Obligation certificates and newer projects awarded Contracts for Difference (CfD) agreements. CfDs are designed to get the best value for consumers by limiting developer revenue.
"Despite operating in an increasingly complex and costly environment, Scotland’s onshore wind sector has maintained exceptionally high compliance with the Good Practice Principles for community benefits since they were updated in 2019. We encourage all onshore wind developers to continue meaningful engagement with host communities throughout the lifespan of a wind farm."