Location: Fintry, Stirling
MW capacity: 37.5 MW/year
Estimated income: income from 6.6% ownership/year
Comissioned in: 2007
Wind farms: Earlsburn Wind Farm
Developer: Renantis (formerly Falck Renewables)
Structure and income
Fintry Development Trust serves Fintry, a village in Stirlingshire. The trust owns one fifteenth of the Earlsburn Wind Farm output. Up until 2023, a large portion of the revenue went towards paying off the loan to buy into the wind farm. However, the trust now has all its revenue at its disposal. The trust’s income is currently varying significantly because of the fluctuating price of electricity.
Net zero projects
Fintry Development Trust has delivered many sustainability-focused projects over the years. These include: loft and cavity wall insulation grants, energy saving lighting, a biomass boiler for a community building, and hosting community events about energy efficiency. Beyond energy efficiency activity, the trust also runs events on topics such as sustainable transport, sustainable food and repair cafes to help reduce carbon emissions in other ways.
When the cost of energy increased dramatically in 2022 and 2023, many Fintry residents were struggling. However, due to the energy price increase, income from the wind turbine also increased. The trust wanted to ensure that these funds were given back to the community. In 2023, the trust started offering grants of £1,000 per household to install decarbonised heating systems, insulation, double glazing, draughtproofing and more. These grants help Fintry residents reduce their carbon emissions and save money by making their homes more efficient and switching their heating to using electricity rather than fossil fuels. In addition, Fintry also offer Fuel Payment Grants to those struggling with rising fuel costs. These grants are administered by Energy Action Scotland on behalf of the trust and are paid direct to the fuel supplier.
Delivery model
Fintry Development Trust currently employs two members of staff to manage the trust. Consulting with the community and being responsive to local needs has been an important part of the trust’s success. The trust has an ‘ideas bank’ where it can store good ideas to incorporate into future plans for funding, It also maintains records of the successes and the failures of projects to learn from their sixteen years of experience. The trust has supported several different groups to understand how it can replicate their success world-wide.
Find out more on Fintry Development Trust’s website.