Our annual UK Sustainable Communities Forum headed to Inverness in October, providing a space for our communities from across the country to come together, discuss sustainable practices, share experiences and above all – connect.
The theme of the Forum was repowering, highlighting the critical role it has in the UK’s goal of reaching 27–29GW of onshore wind by 2030 – and the important part Nadara can play with our communities’ support.
Together, we discussed our repowering campaign and explored the concept of sustainable decommissioning, before visiting our Novar Wind Farm in Easter Ross and getting up close to the turbines. Novar was particularly relevant to the Forum’s theme, as planning will be submitted in 2026 for the repowering of the plant.
Circular economy in action
After the site visit, and re-energised by lunch, we all headed to two businesses local to Novar – ILM Highland, a charity that recycles and refurbishes electrical waste and provides a free home improvement service to vulnerable people, and Gael Energy, a turbine maintenance company that’s researching solutions for decommissioned assets.
Holly Backhurst, our Sustainability Strategy Manager commented, “Visiting the two businesses sparked conversation and gave us the opportunity to understand what communities’ expectations are on sustainable decommissioning and repowering.”
Community winners announced
Back at our base for the day, Kingsmills Hotel, Giulia Privitera, our Head of Sustainability and Stakeholder Engagement, proudly announced the winners of the Call for Projects 2025, an annual opportunity for communities based around our sites to benefit from additional support for local initiatives.
This year’s theme, ‘Local Energy, Local Impact’, truly struck a chord, inspiring a record number of applications and an incredible variety of projects full of creativity and purpose!
“As always it was a real pleasure to gather representatives of communities from all over the country together”, said Erin Murchie, Community Relations Manager UK and Forum organiser. “We shared ideas, discussed challenges and further strengthened relationships which have built up over the last few years.”
Thanks to everyone who attended the 2025 UK Forum and made it happen, it continues to provide a hugely valuable space for connection, mutual education and understanding.