Matthew Imrie discusses the process of adding renewables

Matthew’s job as origination project manager is to steer the launch of renewable energy projects like wind, solar, and battery storage. As a working farmer he’s ideally placed to assess the land, anticipate landowners’ needs and help the project transition smoothly, optimising value and impact for landowners while working towards a greener energy future.

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Matthew Imrie

He describes the initial process: “At ScottishPower Renewables we want farmers to get in touch with us if they’re interested in looking into renewables. It’s very easy – they just need to fill out a form with their postcode and the assessment is free.

“When farmers and landowners reach out to us, the first step we take is to come and assess the land. We look into what works for that land and location and consider all the potential options available.

“Everything we do at ScottishPower Renewables is done responsibly – we strive to be the best neighbour, sharing the benefits of our projects with the local communities. We recognise the importance of biological diversity and cultural heritage, and we respect natural resources in order to enhance the environment.”

The next step is installation which, as Matthew explains, is managed sensitively and with landowners’ needs in mind. He said: “When we build the infrastructure to support the assets during construction phase, we’re building things like fencing and creating access tracks that the farmer can benefit from long term as they have the opportunity to keep that infrastructure in place when construction is complete.”

Once wind turbine installations are complete, farmers are still able to have animals grazing in and around the land they are placed on. “We know farmers might be thinking about the space taken up by such developments, but once construction is complete it’s often only the corner of a field or maybe hill land taken up, meaning livestock can still graze.”

The main source of income from having renewables on your land comes from rent from ScottishPower Renewables. Rental rates are competitive with the industry and dependent on different types of renewable energy produced and location.

As long-term neighbours, ScottishPower Renewables also seeks to support the communities living and working around its sites throughout development, construction and operation, and believes the benefits should be shared.

SPR creates community benefit funds from its onshore windfarms, which pay money from the energy produced directly into the community. “We have already shared more than £64m in community benefit funding paid straight into the local communities in which we operate,” Matthew explained.

“We anticipate that increasing to £200m over the lifetime of our operational assets – crucial funding that we know can help revitalise rural communities that really need it. It can be invested in anything that has a positive impact on the community and we firmly believe that local people are best placed to make decisions about how those funds are spent, so we empower them to

do so.”

It is worth saying that Matthew is well aware of the challenges of rural communities as he himself grew up on his family’s farm north of Glasgow.

“Coming from that background allows me to connect with my clients better than someone who doesn’t know the industry that well,” he said.

“I know all the hard work that goes into farming and I still keep a hand in it myself. There are many benefits to diversifying into renewables – not least of all additional income, contributing to UK energy security and unlocking community benefit funding. I would encourage everybody to look at what opportunities there are within their business and start to investigate how to implement it. We are asking landowners to give us the opportunity to assess their land. We don’t disrupt farms and the general running of farm businesses. It is about working together to diversify income and looking after that source of income for future generations.”

When it comes to the future of sustainability, Matthew believes the key focus is collaboration.

“Sustainable energy and agriculture have to work together in the future,” he said. “You absolutely do not want to remove too much land for agricultural productivity. It is why turbines work so well as they take up such a small footprint. We also need farmers to be part of the conversation – it’s not up to us to be talking over them. Renewable energy income is also prime for reinvesting in the farm, which can move the business forwards by improving yields, getting new machinery, increasing productivity and so on.”

He describes sustainability work from ScottishPower Renewables as coming under three pillars: economic, social and environmental. Having spoken about the economic and the social impact of renewables, Matthew goes on to explain the company’s work in regard to the environment.

“Our in-house environmental and ecology teams are a highly valued part of what we do. They do a lot of the work on habitat enhancement like both removing woodland and compensatory tree planting. They are there to make sure there is a net gain while also enhancing and protecting the natural environment.”

Ultimately, if there are any questions about the impacts and benefits of renewable energy, Matthew and the team can help.

“The economic benefit is perhaps the biggest with the potential to gain a life-changing amount of money from renting the ground,” he said. “Farming is likely to become more and more difficult as time goes on, so having that extra positive income will be a huge benefit. It also improves the business, ensuring the most marginal stuff is maximised for profit.

“The opportunities are there and there are no barriers for people to reach out, even discreetly, if you want to investigate viable options for renewable energy. The process is entirely managed by myself and my colleagues. We don’t use call centres or robots, and we oversee every project from the beginning to end – from the initial feasibility assessment to completion, we’re with you every step of the way.”