Just transition
We believe in a just transition to renewable energy which is fair, inclusive and benefits everyone, with nobody left behind. This means placing local communities at the heart of the transition to a greener future. It means harnessing the power of wind and solar energy to drive down energy bills for UK households and increase national energy security. It means investing in local businesses and creating local jobs. It means channelling project revenue – into community benefit funds, steered by the community, to create transformational change where it’s needed most.
OnPath Together
For communities
We care about what we do and the way that we do it. We go above and beyond to engage with local communities and ensure they share in the benefits of our renewables projects.
Our commitment is to:
- Treat you with respect and consideration and strive to deliver excellence in our engagement with you
- Work with you to develop inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable new communities
- Explore how our developments can deliver lasting tangible benefits to your local community
- Support your community with investment and opportunity
OnPath in numbers
£6 million+
channelled to local communities to date through our wind farm community funds
£1.46M/MW
average spend on local contracts between our Kype Muir and Middle Muir projects
652
Combined local jobs delivered by our Kype & Middle Muir projects during development & construction
£5k per MW
We offer a minimum of £5k per MW per year on all sites for community benefits payments
£1M per MW
We commit to £1 million per MW being spent within 50km of an onshore wind site
1% free equity
Every new onshore wind farm will offer shared community ownership with 1% of free equity and an offer to purchase further shares at market rates
Engagement
Strong community engagement
At OnPath, we firmly believe the success of our business depends upon building strong relationships with the communities around our projects We take a collaborative and inclusive approach to building community trust, publishing clear information about our proposals and providing opportunities for local communities to participate.
We welcome and listen to local feedback because we care about their views, community engagement helps us to understand local issues, needs and values. We work together to help shape the design of our proposals in a way that delivers lasting benefits tailored to the specific needs of the community.
Find out how our extensive community engagement approach has led to successful planning applications over the years.
1,757
Letters of support for our planning applications.
21
21 community liaison committees attended
£1M
£1M community benefit grant awards
£1.6M
Around £1.6M in community benefits set aside from our wind farms
£9.5M
Spent by our partners with local sub-contractors
Funds
Community funds
Community funds linked to our renewables projects are administered through local partnership schemes, ensuring that the funding is used for projects tailored to local issues, identified by local people. By investing in projects with community-driven action at the core, we can help facilitate successful, long-lasting change.
Read more about our approach to community funds below.
Sustainable living
Supporting local climate action within our projects
We help to build climate resilience into communities and empower them to live more sustainably. We support local people in becoming more energy efficient in their homes and community spaces and we provide funding for climate action projects and other climate-related initiatives.
Through our community funds, in 2024, we contributed almost £600,000 to local projects focused on climate action and sustainability.
Supporting local climate action
Climate Action Strathaven
One project supported by our community benefit funds involved the expansion of a vital bus service in South Lanarkshire. Run by Climate Action Strathaven (CAS), the service received £41,000 of funding through the Kype Muir Community Fund. This funding enabled the bus service to expand to offer twice as many services between Strathaven, Stonehouse, and Glasgow, promoting active travel in the area and helping to cut emissions. It is estimated the buses saved 510,000 car miles in the first eight months after expansion, avoiding approximately 235 tonnes of CO2.
Local Jobs
Creating local jobs and training
Through our investment in local businesses to help build and maintain our renewables projects we’ve created hundreds of local jobs. We also invest in training to help improve employment opportunities for local people.
Since our Kype Muir Wind Farm became operational, we’ve invested more than £1 million in improving access to further education, employment, and training for local people.
Find out more about our Kype Muir Wind Farm and the significant benefits it provides to the local community.
Delivering affordable, renewable electricity for the UK
Onshore wind and solar are among the fastest growing and cheapest forms of energy sources in the world. By harnessing and storing renewable energy generated from these sources on UK soil, and innovating new technologies to maximise efficiencies, our projects are helping drive down energy bills for UK households while boosting long-term energy security for the nation.
In 2024, our wind farms generated 653,275 MWh, meeting the annual electricity needs of around 240,000 homes, and avoiding around 135,260 tCO2e emissions. The acquisition of two new wind farms in the last year (Pates Hill and Milton Keynes) expanded our capacity, demonstrating our continued ambition for growth and for helping drive the UK energy transition.
“It has allowed me to get training that I would otherwise not have got and has put me in a really strong position for securing full-time work when I finish college. I’m really grateful to everyone at Wiston Lodge and Connect2Renewables who have supported me on my career journey this year.”
Rowan Johnstone South Lanarkshire based Rowan received funding from an employability initiative partnership that receives funds from our Kype Muir and Middle Muir Wind Farms.
We are incredibly appreciative of the funding provided by OnPath Energy. Over the years, we have built a valuable relationship with their team which has been fantastic and given us financial support to improve opportunities and activities for local people.
Matthew Jardine Hope Hub SCIO
I’ve been involved on both of the funding committees for Lambs Hill and Moor House right from day one. We’ve had so many varied applications from defibrillators that help save lives in rural communities to providing children with school books. It’s really lovely to see how varied it is, and also the process itself is as flexible as it can be to try and accommodate anything and everything… I do feel there is a lot of trust that has been gained from OnPath Energy and will be carried on.
Sue Bell Liaison committee member (Lambs Hill and Moor House)
Our experience with OnPath has been perfect, it really couldn’t have been better.
Colin Dalgarno Strathaven Rugby Club