The community benefit fund from the Halsary wind farm will be £150,000 a year, the company behind the project has revealed.
ScottishPower Renewables said the money will be available during the "operational lifetime" of the Halsary wind farm, south of Spittal.
A spokeswoman said that after discussions with the local community it was decided that 40 per cent of the money, £60,000, would be put in a Caithness-wide fund, with £30,000 going to each of the three community councils areas nearest the development – Halkirk, Watten and Latheron, Lybster and Clyth.
The fund will be administered by Caithness Voluntary Group.
The spokeswoman said the community benefit fund will be launched in the next few weeks.
The 15-turbine wind farm, which can generate enough electricity to power almost 20,000 homes, represents a £37 million investment.
It is thought the Halsary community benefit fund will be the first in the far north to include a Caithness-wide dimension.
The wind farm, which was built to help meet the green energy needs of the Tesco supermarket chain, was developed as part of a power purchase agreement (PPA), making it the first ScottishPower Renewables wind farm to be built without a government subsidy.
PPAs allow developers to build new green schemes while corporate customers get a source of clean energy.
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