Westmill Sustainable Energy Trust (WeSET) is an independent charity that promotes the deployment of sustainable energy through arts, education and energy projects, and supports others to deploy sustainable energy through grants and advice, primarily within a 25-mile radius of Westmill Wind Farm & Solar Park.
WeSET promotes education, inspiration and action through a range of activities including site visits, art projects, and grants to others. This is realised through a team of knowledgeable and enthusiastic trustees, officers and volunteers.
While most of the Trust’s activities are intended to support local communities and individuals however, visitors to the Wind and Solar Farms have come from all over the UK and Europe, as well as Australia, USA and Azerbaijan.
The funding for WeSET comes from grants from the Westmill Wind Farm Co-op, Westmill Solar Co-op, and donations and bursaries from organisations and individuals. These are gratefully received enabling WeSET to fund visits, pen days, arts activities, the rich Education resource and a wide variety of practical support for Sustainable Energy Projects. We have put PV on Watchfield Pavilion, Watchfield Village Hall, helped fund insulation of Shrivenham Memorial Hall, and help fund the development of South Hill Solar.
The site with the 6.5MW Wind Farm and 5MW Solar Farm is a unique resource producing sufficient clean green energy equivalent to the electrical energy consumed annually by 4,000 households. WeSET is proud to be associated with the Westmill projects which we believe to be a beacon of what is possible when people come together to help improve the world we live in.
OUR HISTORY
WeSET was established in 2009 by Eoin Lees, Mike Blanch and Colin Bell to honour a promise made in the prospectus for the Westmill Wind Farm Co-operative to form such a charity, following the successful construction and commissioning of the five wind turbines at Westmill Farm in February 2008. Westmill Solar Park was constructed in July 2011 next to the Wind Farm. WeSET was delighted that the Westmill Solar Co-operative was successfully launched in June 2012 at the WeSET Energy Fair and successfully bought the solar park making it the first community owned solar farm in the UK and is believed to be the largest community owned solar project in the world. The Cooperatives are owned by 2,500 and 1,650 members respectively, each having invested between £250 and £20,000.