Cris Thacker - Galileo Energy

Cris Thacker

"Green Energy & Renewables"

Wednesday night’s guest speaker at Hunterston Rotary was Cris Thacker, Communications Manager, Galileo Energy, the developer behind the proposed Crosbie Windfarm in between Fairlie, Dalry and West Kilbride. 

In his introduction, he said that although his focus was local, he wanted to look at North Ayrshire as a Global Industry. His talk/discussion would be in four parts: an overview of global onshore wind, Scotland: A Renewable Energy Powerhouse, the Crosbie Wind Farm, and the “Community Offering”.

He started off by giving us statistics provided by IRENA, the International Renewable Energy Agency. Since 2014, global renewable energy capacity has increased by 84%. He surprised his audience when he told them that China, despite its reputation as a major contributor to pollution, was top of the league in producing onshore wind generation 405 GW in 2023. America is in second place with 144 GW. Even more surprising is that Scotland is in tenth place, generating 8.8 GW. 

This may not seem much compared, but Scotland is top of the league in the “Capacity to Population” table. China 404 GW to 1400m people; USA 133 GW to 332m and Scotland 8.8 GW to 5.4 m. The target is to raise Scotland’s capacity to 12GW by 2030.

There was some discussion on the difference in policies in Scotland and England since David Cameron’s government cut back the development of Wind Farms in England. Development in England is now trying to catch up.

Cris then spoke about the proposed Crosbie Wind Farm development, which would include 14 turbines with the capacity to power 54,000 homes and a 50 MW battery storage system. 

He explained the process Galileo follows when proposing any such developments. They commission a detailed environmental impact assessment (EIA). They also commit to biodiversity enhancement and habitat management. E.g. Tree planting, protection of peat land and landscaping. They engage in consultations with the local communities. In this case, West Kilbride, Fairlie and Dalry.

He told us that, in this development, they’ve carried out three rounds of consultation to gather local feedback. This has included 14 events in the area surrounding the development.

He then went on to describe the “Community Wealth Fund” which Galileo are keen to promote. This is described on the “Local Energy Scotland” website as;

“Community benefits are a renewable industry-led voluntary initiative to support communities – often in the form of funds. They offer an opportunity for communities to work with renewable energy businesses for the long-term benefit of the community”.

Galileo will commit to; 

Deliver an annual community benefit fund of £5,000 per MW of installed capacity.

This would amount to over £390k per year for the local communities of West Kilbride, Fairlie and Dalry, and, perhaps the surrounding area.

They, Galileo, would support the creation of a vehicle to administer the funds locally.

They would also explore all opportunities to deliver a Renewable Energy Discount Scheme locally. This last item generated quite a bit of debate. 

They also promised they Would Not - intervene in decisions – Once good governance is in place nor engage in local politics.

In addition, up to 10% ownership of Crosbie Wind Farm will be offered to the community surrounding the development to invest in. The profits generated by any ownership stake can benefit the community. 

Cris was asked, “Was it not a “fait accompli” that the scheme would go ahead regardless of local opposition due to government policy?”. He replied he couldn’t really comment on that. We can only wait and see”.

All agreed it was an interesting and engaging evening.