View from the Street: Harnessing Fresh Energy – Putting young voices at the heart of community benefit funds
Published
Rebecca Mason
Quietly tucked away in the tranquil Stirlingshire countryside, Gargunnock has blossomed into a hub of community spirit. Nature is flourishing once again in Glebe Park, the newly formed Community Benefit Society have restored the much-loved village shop after its devastating closure three years ago, and the annual summer gala is expanding year-on-year.
Funding from the nearby Kingsburn Wind Farm has brought colour and energised village activities and facilities that once enriched my own childhood visits to my late grandparents.
Community benefit funds from renewable energy projects aim to give back far more than the land they transform. At their best, they can be about revitalising neglected spaces, celebrating local culture and heritage, and investing in the young people who could sustain rural communities.
When onshore and offshore developers collaborate effectively with communities to shape these funds, their success extends beyond delivering individual projects at hand. They have potential to create social and economic value that lasts for generations.
But when communication breaks down, communities risk losing out. With 76% of young people feeling their priorities fall on deaf ears in local decision making, it is easy to see why opportunities are often overlooked – and why funds sometimes fail to reflect the voices of those who will live the longest with their outcomes.
Take MarramWind, a proposed floating offshore wind farm near the Aberdeenshire coast. The project aims to establish a fund that delivers long-lasting benefits for the communities of Peterhead and Longside.
Ahead of further consultation next month, developers have reflected on responses from previous voluntary events held online and in local community spaces. Reduced energy prices for residents were a top priority for the fund, they were told, alongside investment in new and existing facilities.
For some locals, these benefits are tangible. A cash return on their monthly electricity payments offers a recognisable and measurable outcome. But what about a 13-year-old from Peterhead Academy who dreams of becoming a software engineer?
Lower energy bills, while undeniably important to others, are unlikely to be a priority.
For their generation, MarramWind represents a very different opportunity: perhaps a funding pathway to an apprenticeship or improved digital infrastructure that could make education – or even launching their own business one day – more accessible, smarter, and sustainable.
Too often, this kind of positive change is lost through poor communication and a lack of engagement with the generation that will inherit in the outcomes. Ten years ago, I know I wouldn’t have realised I could influence how investment decisions were made in my local community – nor would I have felt empowered to make my voice heard.
So, how else might developers build bridges to the young people in the places they are transforming?
Think about where to meet communities. This means taking discussions beyond the village hall or website forum to where traditionally underrepresented voices actively participate. Young people won’t always come to you, so be prepared to go to them.
Identify stakeholders and be present in their spaces. Host youth-friendly workshops in schools, meet families at the community BBQ like the Tealing Steering Group (on behalf of Seagreen Wind Energy), or run interactive consultation sessions with young people across the social media platforms they engage with.
Listening is intelligence. Ask questions, understand how young people see the community and grasp what drives them.
It’s important for developers to reflect that youth engagement is more than a simple tick-box exercise. Align funds with their aspirations, acknowledge when they weren’t (and explain why), and publicise “you said, we did” outcomes. Trust and credibility are only built with young people when they see that their contributions truly matter.
Consider mechanisms for ongoing engagement. This could be a youth advisory panel in partnership with community councils, or dedicated seats for under-25 representatives on local steering groups. Strathnairn Community Benefit Fund hastwo people under 21 on its board, for example.
It’s about making small but meaningful changes that ensure that funding decisions evolve alongside the priorities of all stakeholders throughout the windfarm’s lifetime – not just those already established today.
When engagement falters, community benefit funds risk missing the mark. But when it succeeds, fresh thinking and innovative ideas flourish. The result? Local projects that are equitable, forward-thinking, and grounded in what communities truly need.
Youth voices are essential to that success. They hold the ideas that can unlock thriving, resilient regional economies – places where people choose to remain, work, and build their futures locally.
If developers take note, this could ring true from Gargunnock to Peterhead. So, the question, then, shouldn’t be whether to engage young people, it should be how soon they’ll start.