£500,000 projects to encourage renewable energy use

COMMUNITIES from Glasgow to western Harris are set to benefit from £500,000 in funding for demonstrator projects designed to encourage the use and local ownership of renewable energy.

A third of the projects are focused on town and city areas, building on the established trend for community ownership of renewable energy sources in rural areas.

Energy Minister Fergus Ewing announced last month that community and locally owned energy capacity in Scotland could generate enough electricity to power approximately 100,000 domestic households.

Each project has received funding of up to £25,000 for feasibility work.

The 23 projects include a scheme, Community Energy Supply for Urban Areas, which will allow residents or landlords of multi-occupancy blocks in Glasgow and Edinburgh to form Local Energy Supply Companies.

These will negotiate the cost of their imported electricity with national energy suppliers.

Another capital project, UrbanLink, is to identify opportunities to install new hardware in 1,000 households.

A Linlithgow project will use heat pump and solar panel technology to capture heat from the local waste water system and distribute it to town centre buildings.

Mr Ewing said: “The Scottish Government is defining a distinctive approach to Scotland’s future energy provision.

“Community ownership gives communities more control over their own energy and will help us tackle challenges like grid constraints and fuel poverty – while sparking economic revival.”