Onshore renewable energy - refreshing the good practice principles for community benefits: working paper

Glossary of Key Terms

Area of Benefit – The geographical area a community benefits package is intended to support, agreed with the local community through consultation.

Co-location – Where multiple energy developments or technology types share a site, grid connection, or area of a community-led plan.

Commercial maturity – The extent to which a technology can make a return on its initial investment and therefore be deployed more widely than in its early development phase.

Community Action Plan – A community‑led plan that identifies local needs and priorities and can guide decisions on how community benefits are used.

Community benefits – Voluntary provisions made by an energy developer to the

community(ies) within the area of benefit for the development. These can be payments though an annual fund, or 'in kind' benefits such as direct contributions to specific community projects or infrastructure improvements.

Community Benefit Agreement – A formal agreement between the developer and the community group(s), detailing the community benefit arrangements.

Community Benefit Fund – The fund provided by an energy developer to a community group, typically provided annually.

Community Benefits Register – The Scottish Government’s public register where community benefit packages from renewable energy developments are recorded.

Distribution – How community benefits are shared within the Area of Benefit.

Fund level – The value of a community benefit fund – expressed in our recommendations in £ per MW per year. For example, a 50 MW wind farm offering £6,000 per MW would pay £300,000 every year to the local community.

Governance – How community benefit arrangements are organised and overseen, including who makes decisions, how they are made, and how these arrangements are managed and reviewed.

Grid – A system of connected infrastructure for moving electricity from where it is generated to where it is needed – including pylons and underground lines.

Host community – The community(ies) living closest to the energy development.

Index-linked – A community benefit fund level being linked to the rate of inflation and increased accordingly every year, so that the fund retains its value. For example, a £5,000 per MW community benefit fund in 2014, that has increased with inflation since then, could now be worth approximately £6,900.

Inflation – A general increase in prices, and therefore decrease in the purchasing value of money.

Irradiance – The intensity of sunlight, and therefore energy available for solar panels to generate electricity.

Lifecycle – The four broad stages of community benefit arrangements: Early Engagement and Preparation; Set‑Up and Agreement; Operation; and Delivery, Review and Adaptation.

Load Factor – How much electricity is generated as a percentage of the peak generating capacity – therefore affecting a development's revenue per-MW.

Megawatt (MW) – A unit of power generation (or storage) capacity which electricity developments are measured in. A megawatt is equal to 1 million Watts.

Net zero – A situation in which the amount of greenhouse gas emissions put into the atmosphere is balanced out by the amount removed from the atmosphere, so that the ‘net’ effect is zero emissions. Scotland has a target to reach ‘net zero’ by 2045.

Renewable energy – Energy from replenishable sources such as solar or wind power, or sustainably sourced biomass.

Repowering – The renewal of existing energy supply developments at the end of their lifespan.

Revenue model – The way in which an energy development brings in income from the electricity it generates or stores.