Clean-tech may seem like an odd pursuit for a Scottish cow farmer, but Maitland Mackie is nothing if not adventurous. The charismatic septuagenarian is chairman of Mackie's, a family-run farming and food business that makes and markets its own ice-cream. But ever since his firm installed three wind turbines, Mackie has begun to see the potential for clean-tech—not only as a cheap and sustainable energy resource but also as a unifying investment opportunity for rural communities.

"At the moment," he says, "the biggest part of the financial returns go to the City, the developers and the energy companies. The farmers feel great that they get a rental, but it's the small end of a massive return potential."

Mackie's vision is far more democratic. He wants thousands of rural communities and small investors around the country to club together to take ownership of the next generation of wind farms. "We're trying to take back the development of wind energy [and put it] into the hands of the landowners and the rural community," he explains.

Private investors will be offered "green shares" in exchange for an investment of between £1,000 and £20,000. "We had £200,000 on offer from one investor," says Mackie, "but I want this project to be owned by a wide range of people—not just landowners." In fact, he means anyone with an interest in owning a stake in green energy.

Local involvement not only ensures that local communities receive a revenue stream from the turbines—after all, says Mackie, "they have to look at the damn things up on their hills"—it is also a way of speeding up the development process. Developers can come across opposition to wind farms for a variety of reasons, from noise pollution to their detrimental effect on house prices. Allowing the community ownership in the project from the outset should mean fewer planning hang-ups, which makes it a more attractive proposition for the City.

"It's about involvement of communities," says Mackie, "but we mustn't deny ourselves a route into the City. A thousand windmills will cost a billion pounds if you want a crude figure."

Mackie has around a fifth of the pledged capital he needs before he can take his idea to institutional investors. The interest is nationwide—"from Orkney to Land's End"—but there is, he says, "massive interest" from Wales and Northern Ireland. Whether there is enough wind to keep all parties happy is another matter. A survey by the Renewable Energy Foundation found that wind capacity was at its lowest when demand for energy was at its highest—during winter. But Mackie says: "Ten to 30,000 turbines will produce up to 30,000 gigawatts—that's do-able. Wind energy is one of the major answers for the energy crisis that we're in."

www.wingen.co.uk