North Uist pupils name their wind turbines – now time for the public vote

Pupils at Sgoil Uibhist a Tuath joined UistWind and North Uist Development Company for an exciting morning of interactive activities on Friday 27 October 2023. 

Children from P5 and P6, dressed in hard hats and hi-vis vests, visited the two wind turbines at Criongrabhal near Clachan-na-Luib and found them to be ‘mind blowing’ and ‘phenomenal’ after hearing how they were developed, constructed and how they now operate.

Afterwards, the pupils visited the old Lochmaddy School Environment Centre to see the exhibition, to build a wind turbine and carry out some mini experiments, and most importantly, to use all the knowledge they had gained on the day and their own creativity to propose names for the wind turbines.
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The two Enercon 900kW E44 wind turbines became operational in autumn 2019.  UistWind celebrated with an open day which included a group of young pupils from Sgoil Uibhist a Tuath cutting the ribbon to mark the passing of the torch to the younger generation who will benefit from the future income generated by the turbines and the wind turbines’ contribution to the fight against global warming through electricity generation.

Andrew Ross of UistWind said “The wind turbines are currently called Turbine 1 and Turbine 2, which the Management Committee of UistWind thought is a bit boring, and as the wind turbines are owned and operated by the community for the community of North Uist, it is about time people in the community of North Uist give their turbines a name”.

The pupils came up with a lot of great suggestions, and these have been shortlisted to the following pairs, and UistWind are very grateful to pupils and teachers at Sgoil Uibhist a Tuath for their support:
 
UistWind have placed ballot boxes around North Uist where you’ll be able to vote for your favourite pair.  An online voting form is also available via a QR code or the following website: https://forms.office.com/e/fuY8czpAGP.  Voting will close on Monday the 18th of December, and the names will be announced in the new year alongside some more exciting news including another opportunity to become a member of the Community Benefit Society.

UistWind has overcome numerous challenges since its origin including the more recent subsea cable insurance exclusion which has directed a need for larger reserves, but with the repayment of the junior Energy Investment Fund loan and further progress, the Management Committee are hopeful the community benefit fund will be realised in the near future.  The project aims to generate more than £2 million over the project’s lifetime, with profits accelerating further into the project and going back to the community through the community benefit fund and its community investment plan. ​