A close white turbine with metal tower fills the foreground while numerous turbines recede across green-brown moorland and winding dirt roads under a gray sky.
STA02-caithness-community-funds

A long-term investment in the sustainable development of remote rural communities

Caithness Community Funds

Driven by local people, our community funds in Caithness invest in the ideas, projects and people that are shaping the region's future. From supporting community-led initiatives to creating opportunities through education, training and skills development, the funds are designed to deliver lasting benefits that reflect local priorities.

Developed in partnership with the communities they serve, our funds help strengthen local organisations, improve wellbeing and create opportunities for people of all ages. Together, they form part of RWE's long-term commitment to ensuring that the benefits of renewable energy are shared with the communities that host our projects, helping Caithness thrive now and for generations to come.

A blue-and-white infographic displays the headline "RWE is investing in Caithness communities:" with teal monetary figures and illustrated buildings labeled "community centre" and "community shop".

RWE is investing in Caithness communities

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How the funds work

RWE’s community funding for Caithness is administered by Foundation Scotland, a professional, independent grant making charity. All decisions on funding allocations are made by panels of local people.

RWE’s first three wind farms built in Caithness (Bilbster, Camster and Bad a Cheo) provide community funds that primarily support the communities closest to the sites, those living in the Community Council areas of Watten, Tannach, Halkirk, and Latheron, Lybster and Clyth.

In 2026, Camster II Wind Farm was completed, leading to the launch of the Caithness Futures Fund which aims to benefit the whole of Caithness.

Caithness Futures Fund
designed by local feedback

This fund was co-designed with the community panels that allocate RWE’s existing community funds in Caithness. Workshop sessions explored what was working well with existing funding, and what could be improved, to help design a fund that would make the best use of this new and significant long term funding opportunity. Other funding bodies in Caithness were also engaged in the design process.

The result is a fund that provides both funding opportunities for individuals throughout Caithness and for groups that benefit the whole Caithness community, with a focus on leaving a positive legacy on Caithness and addressing health and wellbeing challenges. The fund also committed to host an annual summit which will bring together community members and funders.

A smiling middle-aged man in a blue plaid shirt stands on the road before a white storefront labeled "Woodside Village Store" with wooden benches.

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A white painted signpost reading "JOHN O'GROATS" stands in the foreground as a backpacker in a teal jacket walks along green grass by a gray sea.

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Three people sit on wooden benches under a rustic shelter by a large tree and stone wall, wearing red and black jackets and smiling.

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A person in a striped beanie kneels on grass near a wooden fence and bottle-feeds a white lamb while a black-and-white dog watches tenderly.

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Smiling woman with curly dark hair in a gray hoodie and blue jeans stands by a low stacked-stone wall around a small green park.

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On a dock, two fishermen—one wearing yellow pants—stand by boats and wire crab pots, one bending to pet a dog in an orange life vest.

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For more information on the fund please see our Caithness funding newsletter here

Recognising innovation

RWE’s ‘Future Bright’ awards are designed to recognise best practise and innovation in the delivery of our community funds. In 2025, the community panel members that allocate funding from the Camster Wind Farm Community Fund were recognised for their groundbreaking decision to make some of their local funding available to support individuals from across Caithness to access education and training.

This successful pilot scheme has been incorporated into the design of the Caithness Futures Fund, ensuring everyone in Caithness has access to support to access education and training.

For more on the award click here.

To watch a short film about the impact of these awards please click on the link below.

Find out more about the difference funding is making to individuals and groups in Caithness

Read more about how the funds benefit people in Caithness

Newsletters

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