DEADLINE APPROACHES FOR ELECTRICITY DISCOUNT FROM JACK’S LANE WIND FARM

RES is encouraging local residents eligible to apply for its innovative Local Electricity Discount Scheme (LEDS) to submit their applications by the deadline on 31 January to ensure they receive the first payment of £100 once the wind farm becomes fully operational.

Postcards containing information on how to apply for the annual discount began arriving on the doorsteps of over 400 qualifying properties in mid-December 2014 clearly stating 31 January 2015 as the deadline for this year’s payment.

Sam Mayes, Community Relations Manager, comments:

“It’s been very exciting to reach this milestone in the project which will see tangible benefits delivered to the local community hosting Jack’s Lane Wind Farm. Now that the turbines are up and are undergoing performance testing, we have been able to kick off the LEDS application process to ensure the first payments can be made as soon as possible after the wind farm becomes fully operational.

“In the first few weeks of the application period, over 30% of eligible properties submitted their applications and electricity supplier details. Payments are only made once a year, so I would encourage people to get their applications submitted as soon as possible in order to receive the 2015 payment.”

The qualifying area for LEDS is calculated by taking the straight line distance from each wind turbine and identifying all the postcode geographic boundaries (as defined by Ordnance Survey) with properties within this set distance to form the qualifying area. The set distance at Jack's Lane Wind Farm is 2,400 metres from each of the turbines.

RES encourages any resident who has not been directly contacted but thinks their property might be eligible to contact its dedicated LEDS team for clarification on 0800 011 3341 or via email at leds@res-ltd.com.

In line with RES’ sustainability ethos online applications are encouraged however paper copies are also available on request through the aforementioned contact details. Applications received after 31 January will not be able to receive the payment for 2015 but will be processed to enable eligible properties to receive subsequent annual LEDS payments over the 25 year operational lifetime of the wind farm.

RES’ Local Electricity Discount Scheme is offered in addition to an annual £30,000 Community Benefit Fund which will also soon come into effect to support projects deemed to be of benefit to those living and working within 5km of the wind farm. Application details and fund criteria will be confirmed in the next few months and the local community will be updated in due course.

 RES diagram of LEDS qualifying area

Note:

Properties located outside of the 2,400m Set Distance are only eligible if they are located within the same postcode geographic boundary (as defined and supplied by Ordnance Survey) as properties located within the Set Distance. Areas within the 2,400m Set Distance that are not shaded do not contain properties therefore these postcode geographic boundaries do not qualify for LEDS.