Our Community Fund

The community fund supports local environmental and social projects in the areas local to each wind turbine. The community fund is part of the co-op’s commitment to being socially responsible and ethical in its business.

Value in Pounds

In the original share offer (2012) Drumlin committed to paying £2,000 (index linked) per annum to a Community Fund to be used for mainly educational purposes in the areas local to each turbine.

The annual spend has increased significantly over the years and in 2025-26 the committed expenditure to Community Benefit is £30,000. The Drumlin directors anticipate that, in future years, the allocation to the Community Fund will be considerably more as a result of the expected increased generation from the two repowered turbines.

Value in Practice

BREESI Science Programme for Key Stage 2 Primary School Pupils, devised and delivered by Drumlin’s Education team, brings a focus on renewable energy resources and the associated technology to children who will, one day, have to help solve the growing climate emergency. In total, during 2024-25 the BREESI one day workshop was delivered in 25 schools across Northern Ireland (see Educational Resources)
Support annually for the NI Forest Schools Programme which trains teachers to build awareness in their pupils of the environment and how to care for it.
Provision of guided tours of a wind turbine for school and community groups
Promotion of community engagement in energy matters, including electricity generation and energy use reduction through energy efficiency measures.

Total funds distributed to our local communities since 2012

BREESI: Bringing Renewable Energy to Schools Initiative

Some community funding each year goes towards BREESI, Drumlin Wind Energy Co-ops primary school education programme. See the BREESI resources page for details on how to get your school involved.

The BREESI Initiative is growing

We currently engage with more than 25 schools and we are open to expansion.

Aims of the programme

The aims of the BREESI programme are for pupils:

to gain an appreciation of the need to replace fossil fuels by renewable sources in the provision of electrical energy, and
to explore science and technology elements of The World Around Us in the Northern Ireland Curriculum.

Feedback

Evaluation feedback from 2023/4:

All teachers agreed that they would be likely to include lessons on renewable energy in their teaching practice and future teaching. They felt much more confident in their ability to teach practical science and technology.