| Thistle Wind Partners (TWP), a leading developer of fixed and floating offshore wind farms in Scotland, has launched this year’s fund to support locally led initiatives that promote rural regeneration and sustainability in areas nearby to its Ayre Offshore Wind Farm project.
Over the last two years TWP has distributed funding to a number of local organisations including Lyth Arts Centre, Keiss Hall and Caithness Rural Transport. TWP also donated a new training vessel to Orkney College UHI Nav School in Stromness.
Applications are now open for donations of between £250 – £500 to local organisations and groups working to strengthen communities in Orkney and Caithness, with priority given to applicants in Sinclair’s Bay, Bower and Halkirk community council areas.
Once operational, the Ayre project will contribute to the Scottish and UK governments’ clean energy goals.
The 2025 fund builds on TWP’s ongoing commitment to engage with the local community. In 2024, the company reached approximately 5,700 individuals through its STEM outreach efforts, including sponsorship of the UHI STEM outreach programme and participation in science festivals, engineering events and school visits across Orkney and Caithness.
Allan Tait, Community Engagement Manager at TWP said:
“TWP’s small donations fund will support a range of local initiatives in partnership with communities near our Ayre project. Last year these included improvements to walking trails, the introduction of electric buses and summer arts activities for schoolchildren. All of these activities were chosen based on input from local groups as to what would be most beneficial to them.
“This is a critical time for the Ayre project as we approach the submission of our onshore consent application, and we remain committed to continuing our support for local initiatives that reflect the needs of the community and align with our goals of achieving a clean energy future.”
Funding will also be available to local organisations and groups in Aberdeenshire, where TWP’s Bowdun offshore wind farm is located. Once operational, the offshore wind farm will be able to provide 1GW of renewable energy to the National Grid.
For more information, guidance and to make an application for a community donation from Thistle Wind Partners, please visit: https://thistlewindpartners.scot/donations/
 (l-r) Ian Taylor, Project Director Bowdun at Thistle Wind Partners with Ria Kirkpatrick, STEM Coordinator at UHI and Mark Shiner, Curriculum Leader for Maritime and Engineering at UHI Orkney.
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