The Kilbirnie wind turbine has successfully completed its inaugural week of operations, marking a historic milestone as the first community-owned energy project in Scotland to run commercially without relying on long-term government subsidies.

This achievement coincides with the publication of the UK Government and Great British Energy's Local Power Plan, which intends to invest £1 billion into locally owned clean energy schemes.

The 2.5MW turbine, situated in North Ayrshire, is expected to generate over 7,000 MWh of renewable electricity annually—enough to power more than 2,000 average Scottish households. Furthermore, the project is set to reduce carbon emissions by over 3,000 tonnes each year.

Operated by ATTIX CIC, a Community Interest Company linked to the Radio City Association, the project ensures that all profits are reinvested locally. Funding will support a variety of initiatives, including a new Employment Hub, upgrades to sports and recreational facilities, and programmes to tackle health and educational inequalities. It will also bolster the charity's efforts to combat fuel poverty by providing energy vouchers, equipment, and specialist advice to residents.

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Allan Wilson, a Director of ATTIX CIC, said: "This has been a long and at times torturous journey for our community, but we have prevailed and come out at the end stronger than we started, with a long-term valuable asset that will pay massive dividends for an area too long ignored for investment by others. We are now embarking on a different journey but bolstered over the long term by re-investing proceeds from our endeavours back into improving facilities and services locally and addressing some of this area's many challenges."

The project utilised a "blended finance" model totalling £5.6 million, featuring £1.6 million from Social Investment Scotland and £4 million from the Community Energy Catalyst, managed by Thrive Renewables in partnership with Better Society Capital. Additional support was provided by Local Energy Scotland and the Scottish Government's Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES).

Energy Minister Michael Shanks said: "This is what community energy is all about – giving people a stake in energy generation so profits go to what matters, from tackling fuel poverty to improving local sports facilities in Ayrshire.

"With Great British Energy we are delivering the biggest public investment in community energy in Britain's history, through our Local Power Plan, so more communities can own and control clean energy projects that deliver benefits for their area."

Energy Secretary Gillian Martin added: "The Scottish Government is committed to supporting the growth of community energy through CARES and we are proud to have provided this project with both funding and support. Every community project is important in helping us to achieve a just transition to a net zero future and my congratulations go to the team at Radio City Association for reaching this important milestone in what is a significant and innovative development in delivering community-owned energy."

The Radio City Association is also advancing its 'Electric Valley' sustainability project, which includes a small-scale hydro site developed in collaboration with Scottish Water.