West Lindsey District Council adopts policy to secure community benefits from renewable energy developments

West Lindsey District Council have announced how they will financially support communities hosting large-scale renewable energy developments.  

The policy was approved by the council's Thriving Places Committee on 14 July and set out its expectations for how local communities should benefit from major renewable energy schemes operating within the district. 

West Lindsey is home to one of England's largest concentrations of consented utility-scale solar developments. The five nationally significant schemes due to be hosted there have now received development content although have not yet entered construction. They will boast a combined capacity of more than 2.5GW. 

Currently, there are no legal requirements for renewable energy developers to provide community benefits. While the government has proposed a national approach to community benefit arrangements, it is not expected to be implemented before the end of 2027 and may not even apply to projects that have already received consent.  

To address this, West Lindsey's policy seeks community benefit contributions of at least £500 per megawatt of installed capacity each yet, linked to inflation, throughout the operational lifetime of each development. The funding would go towards communities hosting the infrastructure and could amount to tens of millions of pounds over the lifetime of the schemes.  

The council's approach aligns with a similar policy adopted by neighbouring North Kesteven District Council, creating a consistent approach across Central Lincolnshire to securing local benefits from large-scale renewable energy projects across the region. 

West Lindsey District council has said it will work with affected town and parish councils to explain the policy and discuss how the funding could be used to support local communities. Potential projects identified by the council include energy efficiency measures, community energy schemes, green skills programmes, nature recovery initiatives and improvements to community facilities.