Power Shift / From Shetland to Åland: what happens when locals have the power to decide over wind farms?
As part of the ongoing PowerShift project, this feature by Erin Rizzato Devlin explores how commercial wind farms can bring benefits to island communities, highlighting existing renewable projects in Shetland and in the Finnish Åland islands.
SHETLAND has one of the highest energy densities in the UK. Yet, and despite hosting one of the largest wind farms in the country, fuel poverty levels remain some of the highest in the country, with the cost of living around 20-65 per cent higher than the rest of the mainland.
Shetland Islands Council estimates that almost 7,000 of the islands’ 10,421households are living in fuel poverty. A staggering 3,475 households are in extreme fuel poverty, meaning they spend at least 20 per cent of its income to keep warm.
The numbers have been growing rather than decreasing in recent years, with 830,000 fuel poor Scottish households (33 per cent) estimated in December 2025, despite more renewable energy projects being built not only in Shetland, but across the country.
SIC political leader Emma Macdonald said the council was making the case for more tangible benefits to come to Shetland households and communities from energy development.
“We take every opportunity to engage with government and to remind them about the unfairness facing our community that produces so much energy, yet many residents are unable to afford to heat their homes,” she said.
So, who is actually benefitting from Shetland’s wind?
How much does one turbine make?
The Viking Wind Farm (443 MW) – theoretically – can generate enough energy to power almost 500,000 households. With 103 turbines, Viking returns £2.2 million per year to the local community benefit fund (SCBF), equal to the Scottish Government’s suggested baseline of £5,000 per MW.
It will also return up to £2 million (so far unconfirmed) to the Shetland Charitable Trust for its initial £10 million investment in the project.
By comparison, a community-owned wind farm such as Garth in North Yell (4.5MW) generates around £2 million per year with just five turbines.
In other words, one Viking turbine (4.2 MW) will return around £40,000 per year to Shetland’s two community funds, along with local jobs, business opportunities and income to landowners and crofting tenants.
One wind turbine from Garth (0.9 MW), however, will generate a minimum of £90,000, and up to £720,000 at full capacity, while also supporting jobs and initiatives in North Yell.
Can things be done differently?
Though this comparison seems possible only through small-scale projects, our Nordic neighbours show us how communities can benefit from large scale wind projects too. If we look across the sea to the islands of Åland, which are approximately the same size and population of Shetland, the reality here is very different.
The archipelago of Åland is an autonomous region of Finland nestled in the Baltic Sea. These islands were historically contested between Sweden and Finland, before becoming a Finnish region with Swedish language.
Despite being a small island group of 30,000 people, local democracy here is strong, explains Yvonne Österlund, senior engineer at the Department of Infrastructure at the Government of Åland.
Since 1920, in fact, the region has been self-governing not only through the Åland Parliament (Lagtinget), but also 16 councils spread across the islands.
Given their geographical location, the islands have become particularly interesting in the path towards a green transition, with several wind farms being built or planned both on land and sea.
Unlike Shetland however, Åland is administered by a government with its own legislative powers, which also include matters such as the environment, energy, planning and construction.
“The wind power we have in Åland is owned by Ålanders and contributes to the energy mix in Åland,” explains Yvonne Österlund. There are currently 65MW of wind power with 28 turbines across different locations, all connected to the local electricity grid. The surplus electricity is sold by the local TSO to Sweden.
These include smaller wind farms such as Båtskär wind farm (14 MW), as well as larger projects such as Långnabba Wind Farm (40 MW), the largest wind farm in Åland to date, with 10 turbines.
And there are many more, and much larger, projects in the pipeline: among these, the Sunnanvind offshore wind farm project (up to 4,000 MW) is developed by the Åland Government to maximise the benefits for the islands.
This will generate stable revenues to the local government through leasing and auctioning the waters, and the six local councils nearby will receive property taxes from the turbines in their area.
Stormskär & Väderskär (2,460 MW) is another offshore project being developed in the same area by the Finnish company Ilmatar.
If approved, the wind farm is expected to return at least £635 million in various forms of taxation, including property and energy tax, to the local government and municipalities, and expected to grow Åland’s annual GDP by 1.5 per cent throughout its lifetime. This figure excludes any seabed leases that the local government may require from the developer, which could amount to an additional £7 million each year.
“What is special here is that we own the water,” Österlund explains. “It is not Finland that has authority over the waters around Åland, but Åland itself.”
Unlike Shetland, in fact, it is not the national state that auctions off the marine areas around the islands, but Åland’s local authority itself.
“This will strengthen public resources, which can then be distributed according to the political majority for the benefit of development and the population,” she adds.
Opportunities also exist for citizens in Åland to buy shares in wind turbines through ÅVA (Ålands Vindenergi Andelslag), an association born in 1994 to offer shared ownership of Åland’s wind farms to locals, currently holding 1,500 members. By buying a share at the cost of 470 euros, individuals, organisations and municipalities alike can receive interests or discounts on electricity prices.
As our Nordic neighbours are leading the way in renewable energy that also benefits the places where it is developed, they are proving to us that this can be possible in communities as small and resourceful as Shetland itself.
The estimates are taken from the report by Equitable Energy Research (EER), a not-for-profit created to help local communities navigate the renewable energy sector with confidence.
If you are struggling with energy bills this winter:
- Warmworks is based in the Toll Clock Shopping Centre, offering local advice and streamline grant/loan information for private and private rented households in Shetland.
- Home Energy Scotland offers free, impartial advice on energy saving, keeping warm at home and more. You can contact them here: 0808 808 2282.
- The Fuel Bank Foundation provides vouchers to pay for heating costs in an emergency. You can contact the council to apply and receive these on the same day: 01595 744125.
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