Wednesday 22 May 2013 - ABERDEENSHIRE ELECTRICITY BILL PAYERS TO BENEFIT FROM DISCOUNT "WIND-FALL"

The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Edward Davey is today (22 May) launching a radicalinitiative that will give homes and businesses near Meikle Carewe Wind Farm money off their electricity billsno matter who their supplier is.

Developed by British renewable energy project developer RES in response to feedback from localcommunities around its existing wind farms and polling undertaken on its behalf by Populus, the LocalElectricity Discount Scheme will be paid to electricity bill payers close Meikle Carewe Wind Farm, nearStonehaven.

Over 230 properties closest to the wind farm will qualify for the discount, and are being contacted directly byRES with details of how they can register interest in receiving a £122 annual discount on their electricity bills.

Meikle Carewe Wind Farm is in the final stage of construction and is set to be fully operational by the earlysummer, generating enough electricity to meet the average annual demand of more than 7,000 households.

Speaking at Meikle Carewe on the day of the launch, Secretary of State Edward Davey said:

"We know that two-thirds of people support the growth of onshore wind. But far too often, host communitieshave seen the wind farms but not the windfall.

"I am pleased to see RES pioneering this innovative scheme. Providing local communities with a discount ontheir energy bills no matter their supplier is exactly the type of initiative we are keen to encourage as part of acloser relationship between energy generators and local communities.

"With global gas prices having trebled in the last decade, wind farms such as Meikle Carewe will play animportant part not only in reducing carbon emissions but also providing green jobs and energy security forthe UK.

"We expect to publish the response to our call for evidence on community engagement and benefits foronshore wind shortly, and this is exactly the sort of scheme we are keen to see more of."

Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism Fergus Ewing MSP said:

"I very much welcome this initiative by RES to help support and benefit the local people in our community. Itis important that communities living close to renewable developments can see tangible benefits from these developments.

"The Local Electricity Discount Scheme being launched today will directly help to make energy moreaffordable to nearby communities. I would like to see this type of initiative being offered more widely andwould encourage other developers to consider this option."

Gordon MacDougall, RES UK & Ireland Chief Operating Officer, said:

"'Often when we've talked to communities around our wind farms, people have asked if they can havecheaper electricity in return for hosting a project, so we've worked out a way to make that happen.

"The Local Electricity Discount Scheme launched today Meikle Carewe is the shape of things to come. Weare offering those residential, community and business properties closest to Meikle Carewe a discount of£122 per year off their electricity bills, which will be paid directly to their electricity supplier. The discount willapply for the lifetime of the wind farm - around 25 years.

"The Local Electricity Discount Scheme is offered as an additional benefit to RES' Community Benefit Funds,which at our new sites provide £2,000 per megawatt annual contributions to local communities that are usedto support local initiatives and organisations.

"This means that local communities will receive a total of £5,000 per megawatt per year in community benefitat all new RES sites. To put that into perspective, for the community around Meikle Carewe the total benefitover the project's lifetime is worth over £1.2 million.

RES piloted its first LEDS scheme at its proposed site in Bryn Llywelyn in Carmarthenshire, Wales, in thesummer of 2012, and intends to implement LEDS across the UK at all new sites of 5MW or more that aresubmitted into the planning system during 2013.