Orkney islanders stand to reap all profits from £62m windfarm plan

Every islander on Orkney is expected to benefit from a major windfarm being built with £62m in financing from the UK's national wealth fund.

- Severin Carrell Scotland editor

All the profits from the project will be spent on local services, council officials said. Up to 18 turbines will be built across three islands in what is expected to become the UK's largest publicly owned windfarm.

The first phase - the erection of six 150-metre turbines near Kirkwall, the archipelago's main town - is due to begin in 2027. Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, confirmed yesterday that the wealth fund would underwrite the construction costs.

The turbines, which will generate enough electricity to power about 47,000 homes a year, are expected to bring in £3.3m a year to support council spending, raising as much as £120m over the project's lifetime.

Supporters said that guaranteeing all the profits were kept on Orkney had made a critical difference in winning public support. Community leaders across the Highlands and islands have been highly critical of the rapid development of wind projects and schemes to erect pylons, in part because the profits flow to private companies and investors.