Communities across Clackmannanshire and Perth and Kinross have received more than £1.57 million in grants from the Burnfoot Wind Farm Community Benefit Fund since 2011. The funding has also helped local organisations secure more than £1.9 million in match funding.
Panel members and representatives of many of the groups supported by the fund came together on 5 November to celebrate its 15th anniversary.
The fund is supported by the Burnfoot cluster of four wind farms: Burnfoot Hill, Burnfoot East, Burnfoot North and Rhodders. Owned by EDF power solutions UK and its investment partners, Pensions Infrastructure Platform and Dalmore Capital, the cluster has supported local people and organisations for 15 years.
In that time, the fund has made 671 awards. It supports charitable activity that improves quality of life, strengthens healthy and sustainable communities, and encourages people to get involved locally.
The largest number of awards, 138, worth almost £305,000, supported resilient, thriving and empowered communities. Health and wellbeing projects received 67 awards worth £159,695, while 65 awards worth £208,328 supported places and spaces that enhance quality of life. A further 37 awards supported education and employment, climate and nature, and work to tackle inequalities.
The fund is divided into local sub-funds covering Blackford; Clackmannanshire, including Alva, Dollar, Menstrie, Muckhart, Tillicoultry, Coalsnaughton and Devonside; Braco and Greenloaning; and Glendevon. Each sub-fund is managed to reflect local needs and place plans.
Alongside the main fund, an annual donation of £5,000 supports Ochils Mountain Rescue is also in place for the project’s operational life, which to date has provided investment in life-saving equipment as well as and uniforms to the mountain rescue volunteers.
Piero Maggio, Asset Operations Director at EDF power solutions UK, said: “It’s humbling to see the difference the Burnfoot cluster community benefit funds are making across our local communities.
“By working closely with local people and the panel, we can make sure the fund responds to what matters most to the community. I’m grateful to every panel member who gives their time to consider applications and help direct funding where it can make a real, lasting difference.
“When community benefit funds are managed well, they can change lives: helping to ease the cost of living, tackle social isolation and create places where people can live, work and thrive.”
In 2025, Alva in Bloom, an initiative to brighten up the town’s main street and areas around schools, received a grant of £2,000. Sandra Rees, Secretary of Alva in Bloom said: “Support from the Burnfoot Hill Wind Farm Fund enabled Alva in Bloom to improve the appearance of Alva, resulting in a sense of pride amongst the local community and improved perception of Alva to those passing through our town.”
