The Directors of Dingwall Wind Co-op are local people who think the wind resource of Dingwall should be used to benefit the people of the local area.
Richard Lockett – Director and Company Secretary
Brought up on the family farm at Knockbain, Richard went on to study Environmental Science at Stirling University. He has since worked in environmental land management in Perthshire and has run his own consultancy business for the last 5 years. Richard, who has recently moved back to Knockbain, has played a leading role in the Knockbain turbine project and is passionate about it being locally and co-operatively owned.
Mark Janes – Director
A qualified mechanical engineer, Mark’s career has included periods in the glass and automotive industries before moving into corporate learning and development. He ran his own consultancy practice for 18 years until retiring to Scotland in 2012. Mark now divides his time between sustainable management of an area of woodland on the Easter Ross coast and building a fine-art photography business. Mark joined the board in 2015.
Tor Justad
Tor is a resident of Strathpeffer and has a background in community development, community enterprise and co-operatives.
He has had a lifelong interest in renewable energy as the alternative to fossil fuels and nuclear.
He was a Board Member of the Highlands & Islands Community Energy Company and Community Energy Scotland. Some of his leisure time is spent on his Norwegian traditional boat and serving on committees involved with building a skiff, Fair Trade and campaigning against nuclear transport in the Highlands.
Ian Searle
Ian grew up in suburban London but escaped northwards soon after leaving university. As an engineering project manager he then spent the majority of his professional career based in Scotland.
He now lives on an old croft above Tarvie and spends as much time as possible outdoors, either walking, skiing or cycling. He is a shareholder in the DWC and also Treasurer of the Peffery Way Association, which is clearing and creating a path and cycleway along the old Strathpeffer railway line, linking all the way into Dingwall. Ian joined the DWC Board in 2016.
Ewan Eley
I
have been working in the renewables industry for the past 7 years, with a direct focus on the development of Wind Energy Projects. In recent years I have been managing operational duties for completed developments between 50KW – 7.5MW.
I have day to day experience of data analysis to show performance trends, whilst benchmarking performance indicators. I also have a large amount of experience with fixed pitch turbines – predominantly WTN 225KW machines. I actively manage a portfolio of 11 of these turbines across the North East of Scotland and can draw down on lessons learnt in order to maximize production from the Community Turbine.
The Co-op was developed in partnership with Sharenergy. Sharenergy is a co-operative which helps to set up renewable energy co-operatives. It is a spin-off from Energy4All which has established larger wind co-operatives across the UK and itself owes its origin to Baywind, the UK’s first renewable energy co-operative founded in 1997. Sharenergy provide ongoing administrative support and help facilitate the running of Dingwall Wind Co-op.
The project was developed by Knockbain Renewables – father and son team, David and Richard Lockett. They sought and gained planning permission for the turbine before passing it on to the co-op.