community

We are committed to Shetland and its communities. We are aligning with the benefits from Neshion Energy Park to the Shetland Fair Share Principles, ensuring a fair, transparent and community focused approach.

Community feedback and survey analysis from our first phases of public engagement showed overwhelmingly that the high cost of energy bills is the number one concern for local residents.

In direct response to this feedback, Neshion Energy Park will introducing a Local Electricity Discount Scheme (LEDS) to provide meaningful financial support.

Our LEDS will offer eligible households and businesses in Toft, Brough, Mossbank, Firth and Graven a discount on their electricity bills to help reduce the financial pressure of increasing energy costs. The amount of discount will be linked to the final size of the project once it is built.

How our LEDS will work

Works with any electricity supplier
Discount is credited directly to electricity accounts or provided as vouchers for pre-payment meters
Applications will open 1 month after the project becomes operational
Transparent eligibility based on postcodes

Eligibility Map

The map below shows the proposed eligibility area, based on postcodes. These postcodes represent the communities neighbouring the project. Further details on how the scheme will operate, including how discounts will be applied, will be confirmed as the project progresses and in consultation with the community.

COMMUNITY AND
SHARED OWNERSHIP

We propose to make at least 5% of the project available for community ownership and will work with suitable community bodies to co-develop achievable routes to this.

We also have an ambition to gift a share of the project to improve the viability of a community stake.

This model supports:

Long-term income for local communities
Greater local involvement in renewable energy projects
Opportunities to reinvest profits into community priorities

Additional
Options

In addition to LEDS and Shared Ownership, we are considering a range of other benefit options – some of which are already established in the local area.

These could include:

Support for local education and training, including apprenticeships and scholarships
Contributions to existing community funds and/or charitable initiatives
Partnerships with local organisations delivering services and/or support to residents such as the Brae Rural Energy Hub
Environmental enhancement and/or biodiversity projects

We welcome ideas from the community on how these benefits could best be delivered and how we can support what’s already working locally.

Find Our Application

The application and EIA Report are now available to view on this website or at www.energyconsents.scot under application reference ECU00006120.

Any representations on the application may be submitted via www.energyconsents.scot, using the relevant Project Name and/or ECU reference number. Please note that you must be in possession of a working email address to submit a representation virtually.