How we got here
Fintry Development Trust has grown out of the original aspirations of Fintry Renewable Energy Enterprise (FREE).
FREE was set up in 2003 with the aim of making Fintry a carbon-neutral sustainable community. FREE looked to engage with a local wind farm that was being planned nearby.
The process of negotiation for the community turbine was concluded in February 2006 when the legal agreement between FREE and the wind farm developers, Falck Renewables, was signed.
Our Trust has achieved a lot from its early development days until the present day…
Our subsidiaries
Fintry Development Trust is a company limited by guarantee registered in Scotland (SC319146) and is a charity registered in Scotland (SC037820). The trust has two subsidiaries:
Fintry Renewable Energy Enterprise (FREE) which has a production sharing agreement at the nearby Earlsburn Windfarm.
Fintry Renewable Energy Enterprise is a company registered in Scotland (SC285958).
Fintry Community Energy (FCE) which owns and operates a small biomass district heating scheme supplying heat to 27 households.
Fintry Community Energy is a company registered in Scotland (SC480431).
Fintry Renewable Energy Distribution is a company registered in Scotland (SC536590).
Our main aims
A statement produced at the time of establishing the agreement with the developer sums up our guiding aims and objectives.
“Our ideal proposal was that the revenue from a community-owned wind turbine at the nearby wind farm would enable us to fund our own energy-reduction measures within the village.”
“This proposal would directly involve most members of the community and increase awareness of energy utilisation. We believe that to achieve both local and global benefits of reductions in fossil fuel use and thus lower CO2 emissions, local strategies to reduce energy use through the provision of more efficient heating and insulation are essential. We would look to link these improvements in efficiency to use of energy from renewable sources, either through green energy supply or the use of sustainable fuels such as wood chip etc.”
“Ultimately, we believe that this proposal may pave the way for major changes in the use of energy by the public. Such a model would not be confined to communities close by renewable energy developments, but a direct linkage with a local source of energy generation is necessary for emotional resonance and identification with the project.”
Reporting Scotland coverage of the creation of Fintry Development Trust.
Our future plans
In 2019 we decided we needed to do some planning for the future, looking to define what the trust’s activities should be in the future and how it should be managed.
Despite the challenges of a pandemic which caused understandable delay, we regrouped when we could and continued onwards.
This has involved consulting within the community and externally with organisations we’ve worked with in the past.
We simply asked ‘What should the Trust be doing to ensure it continues to support the Fintry community and reduce its environmental impact’.
From the feedback, we developed plans for our key areas of focus for short-, medium- and longer-term achievements.
Opportunities
We have also now reached the point in our partnership deal where we have paid off the mortgage costs of our turbine and are in receipt of substantially greater funds.
However, this arrived at the same time as the fuel and cost of living crisis hit and the Board has had to quickly address the growing need for assistance in Fintry.
This comes with substantial responsibilities and our volunteer Trustees have undertaken considerable training and planning to ensure our governance and systems are in place to suitably manage this key change for FDT.
While continuing to support the community with several grants to help with fuel costs and energy efficiency, the Trust plans to develop further grant opportunities and hold events, workshops, and training as appropriate and which meet with our environmental goals.
Join us
Our ambitions are great and there is never a dull moment.
This is all fuelled largely by the dedication of our volunteer Board of directors, our staff, supporters, and partners… and lashings of tea.
We actively encourage our members and others to offer their ideas and help us develop our future activities.