A new community-focused energy company, Eilean Siar Energy, has officially launched in Stornoway, marking a major milestone in the push to bring wind farm ownership into the hands of the local community in the Western Isles.

The launch event brought together representatives from the Stornoway Trust, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, Muaitheabhal Community Energy Trust, and Eurowind Energy to celebrate the creation of the new company, which aims to secure community ownership stakes of up to 20% in the Stornoway and Uisenis wind farm projects.

If the full 20% stake is achieved, it would place approximately 80 megawatts of wind energy generation under community control.

Eilean Siar Energy is a continuation of collaborative work between Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, the Stornoway Trust, and Muaitheabhal Community Energy Trust, and will lead the detailed exploration of the next steps to advance the project.

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Norman MacIver, Chairman of the Stornoway Trust and the ownership working group, said: "Major renewable developments must bring real benefit to the community of the Western Isles. Having assessed options it has long been agreed that the best way to ensure this outcome is to secure an ownership stake in wind farm developments. This is an ambitious and challenging project, but one that has the potential to deliver transformational economic benefits across the Outer Hebrides. Launching Eilean Siar Energy is an important and exciting milestone that begins to make tangible a development prospect that has been under discussion in the Outer Hebrides for the past 25 years.

"The establishment of Eilean Siar Energy is a first, important step, but there is much work to be done over the next period. We will shortly be embarking on a period of detailed legal and financial due diligence to identify the most efficient delivery model and to fully understand the economics of the project. We also want to engage and consult with the community, in due course, to discuss the scale of the opportunity and to hear community aspirations around the dispersal of any funds arising from the ownership stake in the projects.

"Over the next period we will also be working to deepen the good initial relationships we have developed with a range of public and private financial institutions. I am extremely pleased with the initial warm market reception to the project and to our ideas. There is a long way until a final investment decision is achieved, but market engagement to date makes me confident that we have an excellent proposition and a very deliverable project."