Seafield wind turbine takes a step forwards

Portobello based community group PEDAL have received a £72,000 boost from the Scottish Government to conduct a detailed feasibility study, and pay for associated legal and planning costs relating to the construction of a 47.5m tall wind turbine on the Western part of the Portobello promenade towards Seafield.

According to a blog by Peter McColl, one of the volunteers involved in PEDAL, if successful, the project will be the first community owned, commercial wind turbine in any city in Scotland.

Project Manager Tom Black said “If it does go ahead, it could bring real benefits by reducing carbon emissions, bringing in money that would be made available for local projects, and raising awareness of the renewable energy resources that Edinburgh has on it’s doorstep.”

If the group gains all the necessary permissions, the group proposes to take out a commercial bank loan to fund the £470,000 capital costs of building the turbine. No further information on how any profits will be distributed was available at the time of writing.

You can see a large mock-up image of what the turbine will look like here (but it may take a while to load).

Meanwhile, Greener Leith is still in the process of working out a viable financial model that could see a small, community owned, hydro electricity generator built on the Water of Leith at Redbraes weir. Watch this space, as we'll be sure to update you on news of both projects as they emerge.