A proposed wind farm around 5km west of Moffat, could generate £2.8m Gross Value Added for the economy of Dumfries and Galloway every year, for its 40-year lifetime. 

According to a report prepared by BiGGAR Economics for the Rivox Wind Energy Hub project, the wind farm would also generate some £28.9m Gross Value Added in Dumfries & Galloway during its construction and development. 

Belltown Power, the UK developers behind the proposal, aim to provide material benefit to the communities that host them, using local supply chain wherever possible to strengthen the local renewable sector.  

Should Rivox be consented, a wide range of services and suppliers will be required to build and operate it, including construction, drainage and fencing contractors; materials suppliers and building merchants; plant hire and security and local hospitality and accommodation providers. 

In due course, Belltown will hold a “Meet the Buyer” event for local businesses to meet the project team, so they can discuss opportunities to work together. 

Local people and businesses would also benefit via the community benefit fund. Belltown have already committed to £5,000 per installed MW. In the case of the proposed Rivox scheme this represents £1,044,000 every year for 40 years, if the wind farm is consented. 

Based on feedback received from the local community during public consultations, Belltown is proposing to use a significant proportion of the Community Benefit towards electricity discounts to local residents. Belltown will provide material reductions to the annual electricity bills for those residents in the vicinity of the Rivox project. This would still leave around £250,000 a year remaining in the Community Benefit fund to be used for local projects, to ensure a lasting legacy of economic development can be created. 

Local economic development would be further supported through the offer of shared ownership. Belltown Power donates 1% of the ownership of the project to local communities for free and offers the ability to buy an additional 4% at cost. By providing the local community an opportunity to invest in the project, the returns generated from the proposed development would further support local ambitions.  

Next month, Belltown Power plans to meet with representatives from the communities closest to the proposed wind farm – Moffat and Beattock - to discuss the finer details of the proposed community benefit offering. 

Speaking about the project and specifically the economic impact assessment, Rivox’s project manager, Peter Thomas, said, 

“Our project could make a significant contribution to the region’s – and Scotland's - economic strategy, which is now being driven by climate change commitments. 

“Based on the range of local economic and social benefits and the commitments we’ve made, we’re confident that the Rivox Wind Energy Hub will generate economic impact regionally and nationally while driving the delivery of a more sustainable economy. 

"The feedback we received from two public consultations last year was reassuringly positive: just over half (52%) of local people thought the proposed site was suitable for a wind farm and 56% support onshore wind more generally.” 

The Rivox Wind Energy Hub proposal was submitted to Scottish Government’s Energy Consents unit in August 2023. It will be determined by Scottish Ministers. 

We're very pleased to confirm submission of our planning application to the Scottish Government for the Rivox Wind Energy Hub.

We would like to thank everyone who contributed to shaping our proposals by providing feedback and attending our public consultations. A physical copy of the planning application is available at Moffat Town Hall offices.

The full planning application and all the associated documents can also be viewed online, on this website (see Project Proposal section) and on Scottish Government's Energy Consents Unit website (www.energyconsents.scot) reference ECU00003293 where representations can also be submitted up to 28 August 2023.

Belltown

• are continuing to work with Forestry and Land Scotland on ideas for habitat enhancement and with Dumfries & Galloway Council’s Ranger Service; they have committed funding in principle to support the long term plans for developing walking routes.
• will provide the local community with £5,000 per MW installed per year (index linked) of Community Benefit for the lifetime of the project. Based on the current proposal, this has the potential to generate approximately £1,044,000 a year for local communities for the 40-year lifetime of the project.

Energy bills were identified as a key concern by local residents and public consultations showed that by far the most popular suggested use of Community Benefit was reducing energy bills.In response, Belltown have offered to use a proportion of the Community Benefit fund for an Electricity Discount Scheme (EDS), following feedback from local people.  If Rivox Wind Energy Hub was consented in its current proposed form, residents and businesses in the vicinity of the project would be eligible for significant discounts off their bills, each year for the lifetime of the project. These proposals will be the subject of further discussion with local people in due course.

Belltown also offers a ground-breaking Community Ownership scheme that can bring tangible benefits via the revenue generated by owning a stake in a renewable energy project. The developer offers all the communities where it builds wind energy hubs 1% of the project ownership for free with a further 4% stake being available to purchase at cost once the project is operational. As the project progresses, they will continue to engage the local community to establish how the community can best benefit from this opportunity.

Peter Thomas added; “At Belltown, we fundamentally believe that renewable energy projects should benefit the communities that host them and we look forward to continuing our discussions with local people about the benefits that this proposal can deliver, as the application progresses.”

Following submission, Belltown will continue discussions with community councils and other organisations about the community benefit fund and shared ownership.

Should the proposal be consented, Belltown could start construction in late 2025; the company offers a procurement policy that favours local contractors to ensure they and local suppliers benefit from the project.

As a Section 36 project, the application will eventually be determined by Scottish Government Ministers with Dumfries and Galloway Council as a key consultee. 

This second consultation event will take run from 18 January - 8 February 2023 and will include

In-person Exhibitions

• Wednesday 25 January, Beattock Village Hall, 0900-1200
• Wednesday 25 January, Moffat Town Hall, 1400-1900

Please come and meet the team to find out more about the revised proposals, ask questions and share your views.

Virtual Exhibition

If you are unable to attend the exhibitions in person, or would like to view the exhibition material again, a virtual exhibition will be available from 18 January here.

The event has been advertised in local media and an invitation has been sent to local residents by post. We welcome all feedback, which you can submit by returning the feedback form included with your exhibition invitation by Freepost [please use the envelope supplied, no stamp no further address required], or complete it online by 8 February here We look forward to engaging with any questions and feedback you may have about the project.

We have recently installed a temporary meteorological mast – a ‘met mast’ – on the proposed site of the Wind Energy Hub in Rivox. The mast – which was granted planning permission by the local authority prior to installation - will be used to measure wind speed and direction on the proposed site. The data it provides will be used in combination with the noise monitoring that is scheduled to be undertaken, to facilitate our final proposed layout design for the project.

A big ‘thank you’ to everyone who turned out at the public exhibitions we held last week in Beattock Village Hall and Moffat Town Hall. We had nearly 100 people drop in over the two days.

It was very useful for the team to meet local people and to hear your views and to get your ideas and suggestions for the community benefit.

We’d also like to thank all of you who have taken the trouble to send in your Feedback questionnaires in the post: we are busy logging and analysing all of these.

There will be follow up conversations on all aspect of the project with community representatives over the summer and we hope to hold a second public exhibition this autumn, to present more detailed information on certain elements of the proposed wind farm.

If you were unable to attend, you’ll find the exhibition online, on the website here and Feedback is open until 24th June.

Meanwhile if you have any specific questions or issues you’d like to raise with the team please email rivox@belltownpower.com

VIEWS SOUGHT ON RIVOX WIND FARM PLANS

Local residents are being invited to view plans for a new Wind Energy Hub near Moffat. The plans from Belltown Power will be on display for two days in early June and the company are keen to get local feedback.

The Belltown team will be on hand at the two public exhibitions to answer any questions local residents may have and to gather views on the proposal.

The exhibition will include detailed information about the project including visualisations from several viewpoints.

Commenting on the consultation, Peter Thomas, Senior Development Manager at Belltown Power said, “This is our first consultation event and we are keen to hear what local residents think of our plans for the Rivox development. We are trying to reach out to as many residents as we can to get their views. We’re holding exhibitions in Beattock and Moffat as well as a virtual consultation and we have posted out an invitation and feedback form to over 2500 households around the development site.”

Belltown Power were selected by Land and Forestry Scotland (FLS) as the preferred bidder for the Rivox site following a tender process in 2019. The site is currently a productive forest, used to

grow trees for harvesting as timber and this land use will continue alongside the proposed wind farm.

A scoping report was submitted to the Scottish Government in June 2021. The current proposal could see up to 31 turbines across the site producing over 200MW of clean energy.

Commenting further, Peter Thomas, said, “We are fully committed to a full community benefit package that includes £5K per MW installed per year for the 40-year lifetime of the project. We’ve also developed a ground-breaking community ownership package that enables local communities to take an ownership stake so that they’re really invested in the project and so it brings tangible benefits to the heart of the community.”   

The online virtual exhibition will run on the website from 1 June to the 22 June showing all the exhibition materials and allowing residents to leave feedback www.belltownpower.com/uk/rivox/

The public exhibitions will be held on Tuesday 7 June and Wednesday 8 June 2022.

• Tuesday 7 June, Beattock Viillage Hall, 11 – 7pm
• Wednesday 8 June, Moffat Town Hall, 11 – 7pm