About Us

Shetland Community Benefit Fund Ltd (SCBF) was established in 2011 after an initiative by the Association of Shetland Community Councils and Voluntary Action Shetland. It was created in the early days of renewable energy development in Shetland, when the Viking Energy Wind Farm was first proposed.

SCBF and its directors do not take a position on whether renewable energy developments such as Viking are right or wrong. Our role is focused on one thing: negotiating the best possible community benefit agreements for Shetland, on behalf of local communities, where developers ask us to manage those arrangements.

SCBF is registered and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. From the outset, it was agreed that SCBF would not operate as a charity. This gives us greater flexibility, as we are not subject to the legal restrictions that charities can face. As a result, SCBF has considerable freedom in how it uses its funds.

SCBF can make investments, loans, or grants to community and charitable organisations, as well as to businesses and individuals, although some restrictions apply when supporting businesses and individuals.

Each of Shetland’s 18 community councils can nominate a director to serve on the SCBF board. The nominee does not need to be a community councillor. Once appointed, directors have a legal duty to act in the best interests of SCBF, in the same way as any company director or charity trustee.

SCBF has signed two legally binding agreements with Viking Energy.

The first agreement provided £400,000 per year while the wind farm was being built, from 2020 to 2024. The second agreement covers the main, long-term community benefit funding of £2,214,500 per year (index-linked) for the lifetime of the wind farm. This main funding began in September 2024, when the wind farm first sent commercial electricity through the new interconnector cable to the Scottish mainland.

The £400,000 annual funding was used by SCBF to run the Advance Grant Scheme, which funded projects supported by Shetland’s community councils. The four community councils with a wind turbine in their area — Tingwall, Whiteness and Weisdale; Sandsting and Aithsting; Delting; and Nesting and Lunnasting — each received £50,000 per year. The remaining 14 community councils each received £10,000 per year.

This funding was also used to cover the costs of running the scheme, SCBF’s general administration, and obtaining legal and financial advice during negotiations with Viking Energy. It supported the development of the SCBF website, including online grant applications, and enabled a wide-ranging public consultation to understand the community’s priorities for the Viking Community Fund.

The results of this work formed the basis of a full Business Plan, which was required before the second agreement for the main funding could be signed. The Business Plan was approved in May 2024, and the formal Minute of Agreement was signed later that month.

SCBF is now looking at how the community benefit fund can be used to complement and strengthen existing funding schemes from all sources. Our aim is to help address local needs and priorities in creative and innovative ways. Full details of our funding schemes are in the Business Plan.

A large proportion of the work of SCBF since 2011 focused on the Viking Energy Wind Farm (VEWF) development. Initially it was owned mainly by the Shetland Charitable Trust and SSE Renewables but the trust backed-out of its investment leaving SSE Renewable as the owners.

Anyone in Shetland over the past decade knows the Viking project has experienced something of a roller-coaster ride. The work and activity levels of SCBF and its directors has largely mirrored that of Viking Energy. When its prospects of going-ahead seemed more likely then SCBF activity increased because we had to be prepared in case the wind farm was built. However when the prospects were less likely, as was the case for some time, then SCBF activity was largely restricted to an annual meeting and a ‘watching brief’ on what was, or wasn’t happening.

However, work continued somewhat spasmodically on preparing a draft agreement for community benefit if the Viking development did ever happen. SCBF held numerous negotiations with the company and its main shareholder – SSE Renewables.

As the commitment and confidence of SSE Renewable to build the Viking windfarm increased SCBF, Viking Energy and SSE Renewables finally signed Heads of Terms in July 2020 to form the basis of community benefit funding through the Viking Community Fund.

This committed Viking Energy and SCBF to two legally-binding agreements – one for funding of £400,000 a year while the development was being built from 2020 to 2024 and another for the main core funding of £2,214,500 a year (index-linked) for the lifetime of the development once operational.

In May 2020 SCBF signed an agreement with the local company that runs the Burradale wind farm – Shetland Aerogenerators. This was the second community benefit agreement for SCBF. It is managed and accounted for separately from any other fund. The agreement is for £10,000 a year for 10 years, index linked to CPI.

The fund was used initially to promote active travel, but there is now a five-year plan to promote science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEMs) in local schools and reintroduce a Shetland Science Festival.

There are three other proposed smaller wind farms in the islands, all now owned by Norwegian state-owned company Statkraft. SCBF maintains contact with the company to discuss its plans for the three projects although there has been no final decision on the distribution of these funds. SCBF is also in discussion with several potential offshore windfarm developers and takes part in discussions regarding the islands council’s ORION Project.

December 2025