UnEarth Magazine.

Words by Francesca Taylor, Art by Eliza Thorpe

The Galson estate lies on the northernmost edge of the Isle of Lewis, where one of Europe’s largest and most ecologically significant peat bogs is located. Home to Golden Eagles and 4,500-year-old standing stones, the people who make this corner of the world their home feel a strong connection to their land. However, this area was placed under threat over 15 years ago, when two powerful corporations proposed plans for 181 turbines. Despite being backed by the local government and business sector, the local community was able to push back and save their peatland from development. 

Five years later, the community embraced wind energy on a smaller scale. Through reliance on existing roads and carefully selected turbine sites, they built three turbines on the community-owned land of the Galson Estate. Built in consultation with the local community, the turbines have provided jobs to 15 full-time workers as well as a three-month winter health and wellbeing program, and holiday activities for children throughout the year. This community-owned wind farm has generated 34 times more benefits for the local community than a commercial wind farm. 

Today, the Galson Estate seeks to expand and build nine new turbines in collaboration with Barvas and Carloway Estate Trusts (the profits of which will be split amongst them). Neil Mackinnon, the development manager for the estate described the benefits of working in collaboration: 

“One of the things that we’d be looking to do would be to try to partner to do things in tandem. So, for example, if we’re all looking to build housing, we would maybe try to take on board a housing officer who would work, maybe through, you know, in each of these areas at the same time, so that we’re not each individually employing a housing officer…So I think there’s lots of opportunities or kind of working in partnership and achieving economies of scale that we can’t at the moment.” 

Yet, despite their success, community-led projects like Galston face mounting challenges. As Mackinnon explains, government policy has increasingly favored large-scale corporate developments:  

“Under the previous arrangements, the subsidy schemes were available for projects which were up to five megawatts. And now that’s no longer available. So to get any kind of subsidies, then you need to become larger… we’re having to compete with all the other wind farms in the area, which are much larger. Some of these are over 100 megawatts”  

He adds that the estate and other community windfarms are having to compete for these large commercial windfarms in auctions to even receive these subsidies and “basically the most economical bid wins. So communities trying to compete in that, I think they’re going to find it difficult.” 

Infrastructure also represents a significant hurdle, “because of the size of the cable between the island and the mainland, the cost of getting that in is very expensive. And developers who are using the grid here need to underwrite costs, but also every year they need to pay a fee for using [it].” Mackinnon estimates that transmission fees alone could consume up to three-quarters of the project’s annual profit, leaving very little for the community. 

He also highlights the deeper inequalities that they, and others on the island face: “…these fees are much higher in the north of Scotland than in other parts of the UK. So the north of Scotland is effectively being penalised for supplying electricity to the large urban areas in the rest of the UK. So again, that’s something that’s left hanging over the project just now.” 

Despite these challenges, Galson Estate is actively working towards a solution. Mackinnon explained that they have been developing proposals for fairer treatment of community-led renewables, “like having a special designation for…wind farms which are locally or community owned, so that they’re not subject to the same regulations that would normally apply. For example, they wouldn’t have to underwrite grid costs or compete directly with larger companies that have far more resources and technical knowledge,” and that “community projects are given kind of importance in the process, [for] local agreements and consent and planning applications” 

However, this arrangement would need collaboration across the sector: , from NESO, which runs the national grid, to Scottish government ministers and Westminster officials, and finally, Ofgem, the renewable energy regulator for Great Britain. Without such cooperation, locally driven projects, like Galson’s, remain at a disadvantage in a market designed for corporations rather than communities. 

For those living on the Isle of Lewis, the energy transition is not only about the shift to green energy, but also about those who live closest to the land having a fair share of renewable energy’s benefits. The Galson Estate’s story shows how local ownership can deliver social, economic, and environmental gains far exceeding commercial developments. Yet, it also exposes how current energy systems and regulatory frameworks reproduce inequality, penalizing rural areas for their geography while privileging profit over people.  

Holyrood and Westminster need to recognise the value of community-led renewable energy projects. The future of global clean energy is in Scotland but if leaders don’t recognise this and act to support local ownership, fair regulation, and equitable access to infrastructure, this future could wither. By supporting communities, Scotland has the opportunity to secure its place as a global leader in the green energy transition, ensuring that rural areas thrive alongside the growth of clean energy.