Mayo councillors seek hike in levy on windfarms

The community benefit rate of €2 per kilowatt for energy produced at windfarms in Mayo must be increased, a local councillor has stated. 

Independent Cllr Harry Barrett told last week's meeting of Mayo County Council that the community benefit fund was "extremely low" and asked how it could be improved.

"I just want a framework because these people are making a lot of money, yet the rate hasn’t changed and inflation has eaten into it. There has to be a way of us negotiating with these companies so that what they benefit from wind is fairly distributed among the community. It is shocking we have to ask for this and signals a loss of control. 

"The Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS) tells us there is no need for these companies to provide an annual audit, so it is just self-reporting. We don’t know what they are generating, we are just taking them at their word, and I would like a little bit more control and a framework. Obviously, we are getting some community benefits, but we want to reverse engineer this and renegotiate the rate on the basis of energy generated and link this with inflation. We are well within our rights to ask this. We need to take back control and connect with the reality of heavy energy prices we are paying.” 

Cllr John O’Hara supported the call, saying wind energy is highly profitable. 

“They come in and do their business, and we never see them after that. We were looking for 10% for the contribution levy many years ago, we got the 2.2% and I would propose at least to double it, it isn’t a lot.” 

Cllr Gerry Coyle said he fully agreed to go for “whatever we can get from them”. He added that the windmills are turned off sometimes due to oversupply, yet the government pays the companies for these stoppages. 

“How does the energy regulator allow this with the prices of gas and oil and why is this energy not given to people for free? Why don’t we say, leave it running, we are going to give it free to the people. Let us make a resolution that we demand it is kept going for the people of Mayo. There is millions gone to waste. Just this minute I have received a text to say there is an energy surge at home in Erris and the advice is to not use your washing machine.” 

Cllr Michael Loftus agreed that “the government pays them if they turn the windmills on or off", adding: "The company gets money and the community gets nothing.” He said the government brought in the arrangement originally with Green Party leader Eamon Ryan “and the only way it can be changed I think is through the Department and Mayo County Council can’t do anything about it.”

• Published as part of the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.