Westmill, the largest community owned and built wind farm in the UK, is now powered up and generating green electricity.

Located near Swindon in Oxfordshire, the £6 million project with five 1.3MW turbines, will power the equivalent of 2,500 average homes for the next 25 years. Uniquely, this wind farm initiative is 100% community owned, with investors creating a co-operative, which raised an impressive £4.4 million. 

Co-op director and local farmer Adam Twine made the first steps for Westmill Wind Farm some 15 years ago. His dream is now finally realised after what has been a turbulent and lengthy planning process. Adam says: “Westmill Co-op is a superb example of what individuals intent on making a difference can achieve together. It’s very exciting that after such a long struggle the turbines are now up and generating green power”. The wind farm initiator continues, “I hope Westmill will inspire other communities to take similar initiatives in their own locality and in their own way.”

It was an historic event for the South East of England when the turbines arrived on site. A project of mammoth proportions, which involved five lorries, a police escort and a crane to assist with the assembly of these magnificent works of engineering. 

 The Westmill Co-op was conceived in 2004 under the guidance of community green power developer, Energy4All. Its Chair, Andrew King, says: “Energy4All is absolutely delighted at the construction of this revolutionary project; the result of many years of effort on the part of Adam Twine and hundreds of local people, who believe this is a vital contribution to the UK’s fight against climate change.”