Westmill wind farm

Westmill wind farm is entirely community owned and was the first onshore wind farm in the South East of England.

Photo by Martin Phelps

Westmill Co-operative developed this site in Oxfordshire as entirely community owned through the support of the landowner, WOW (Windpower over Westmill) which consists of local stakeholders and other rural and cooperative organisations. The wind farm meets the energy needs of 2,500 homes. The co-operative society established voting rights that are distributed equally among the members, regardless of the number of shares held.

Westmill has a minimum share holding of £250 and a maximum (by law) of £20,000. The objectives are:

• the development, management, generation, transmission and supply of electricity from renewable energy sources
• the conservation of energy through advice on energy efficiency including energy efficient products and the supply of energy efficient products
• the promotion of awareness of environmental and related issues and support for educational initiatives related to renewable energy.

Tags: energy, neighbourhoods