The Portobello and Leith Community Wind Energy Project has won – just – in its Energyshare.com contest category, and will receive £80,000 funding.
The money will allow completion of further feasibility research into a scheme to build a wind turbine at Seafield. It is now expected that the project will move into the planning application stage in 2012.
Writing on the Energyshare website, organiser Chas Booth described the last few moments of the online competition on 3 December as nerve-shredding. PLCWEP pulled ahead of its nearest rival – Old Basing Scout Hut – but then watched as they began to claw their way back as the deadline neared. In the end, the Scottish scheme won by only 50 votes: 'a tiny margin considering more than 30,000 votes were cast in total'.
The project's success was partly the result of its organisers presenting an eye-catching idea with clearly presented and easily understood potential benefits for the local community (which includes those living beyond the most strictly interpreted confines of Leith and Portobello). Profits from any eventual scheme would be ploughed back into further green energy projects for the area.
They also enjoyed a pre-existing audience, a group of committed people with a broad mixture of networks and influence, surprising amounts of goodwill to draw on, several people with experience of social media and running wider campaigns and – arguably the most vital ingredient – luck.
Whilst Spurtle welcomes the spectacular result and does not mean to look a gift horse in the mouth, it is worth pointing out that not all areas in Edinburgh or further afield will enjoy such a fortunate combination.
In this instance, well-deployed communication technology gave unprecedented voice and agency to local people. Other groups may not be so well resourced. As one observer remarked, 'This style of [bidding] is hugely demanding on ... organisations, especially those which may not have the capacity, or professional communications staff to drive them'.
No such ruminations featured in the successful organisers' public announcements on Sunday evening. 'We’re delighted to have won so much support for the project,' said Eva Schoveld, Chair of PEDAL – Portobello Transition Town, 'and would like to thank everyone who took the time to vote for us'.
Greener Leith Chair Charlotte Encombe offered 'A big thank you to everyone who voted online, tweeted, facebooked, blogged and badgered their friends and colleagues to support the project.
'We still have a number of hurdles to overcome, but this vote gives a clear message that the project has widespread support, for which we are extremely grateful.'
Other winners in the competition were Hexham River Hydro (large category), North Devon Hospice, and Shrewsbury Hydro (both small category).
The Energyshare.com contest is a collaboration between River Cottage and British Gas which awards a total of £500,000 to community renewables projects on the basis of online votes.
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