Blown Away: following the money in Scotland’s onshore wind sector
July 1, 2026
Between 2019 and 2024, Scotland’s onshore wind sector made an estimated £5.6 billion in post-tax profits. Around 73% of that profit – £4.1 billion – is estimated to have been paid in dividends to corporate shareholders, with £729 million of that to companies owned by private equity or based in tax havens. During that same time, only around £147m in total in community benefit was …
Between 2019 and 2024, Scotland’s onshore wind sector made an estimated £5.6 billion in post-tax profits. Around 73% of that profit – £4.1 billion – is estimated to have been paid in dividends to corporate shareholders, with £729 million of that to companies owned by private equity or based in tax havens. During that same time, only around £147m in total in community benefit was paid by developers to communities near to those windfarms.
These were some of the key findings of research from the Centre for Local Economies (CLES), commissioned by us along with Community Land Scotland and Uplift. The findings in the report: Blown Away: following the money in Scotland’s onshore wind sector, showed clearly just how much money from commercially owned onshore wind farms is leaving not just the communities that they’re near to but also Scotland itself, and also put paid to the idea that there isn’t enough money from onshore wind to go round.