Windfall Fund

TEMPORARY CLOSURE OF TIREE WINDFALL FUND FROM 31st JULY 2023

For the last decade, the Tiree Windfall Fund has funded community projects and events using the income generated by our community wind turbine, Tilley, and the Trust are doing their utmost to ensure that the turbine provides an income for the community for years to come.

She is currently running smoothly and is properly maintained, but she is becoming less reliable, and we must all recognise that Tilley has a limited lifespan. One day – and we don’t know when – she will stop forever.

We have built up reserves to cover uninsured repair and decommissioning costs. We are exploring ideas that have the potential to provide new income and other benefits however the economics, practicalities and shifting policy mean that any new developments are not expected to generate the amounts of money for the community that Tilley has.

Our aim is to prepare for a future beyond Tilley’s lifespan. Taking a responsible and prudent approach, the directors of the Trust and TREL are reviewing how we will manage and use income from Tilley in future in ways that maximise current and legacy benefits.

Over the next few months, we will develop options for the future of the Windfall Fund. Tilley is a community asset, and we will share the options publicly for discussion and agreement.

The Board has agreed that, while these new options are being developed, the Windfall Fund will be closed to new applications from the 31st of July, provisionally until the end of 2023.

Anyone wishing to apply for support should therefore get an application in to us before that date.