SCHEMES to develop locally-owned community renewable energy projects in the north and north-east have been awarded nearly £2million in loans.
Money from the Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES) will help with the pre-planning costs of more than a dozen projects in Grampian and the Highlands and islands.
Projects in Aberdeenshire have been awarded £919,000, ranging from £59,000 to help Braemar Community Limited develop a 0.05MW hydro-electric project to £150,000 to help Huntly Development Trust with a 1.75MW wind scheme.
Schemes in Highland have been awarded £656,000. They include £150,000 to Coigach Community Development Company for a 0.9MW wind project, £150,000 to the Scottish Wildlife Trust 0.3MW hydro scheme, and £56,000 to Coinpeg (Cove, Inverasdale, Naast, and Poolewe Energy Group) for a 0.1MW hydro scheme.
A further £65,000 has been awarded to Angus, £109,000 to the Western Isles and £96,000 to Orkney. On top of the money for the north and north-east, Argyll and Bute is getting £271,000.
The loans were among nearly £4million to 42 projects across Scotland. Out of the total, 29 are community-based, one is owned by a rural business, and the remaining 12 have been brought forward by farmers.
Energy Minister Fergus Ewing said: “These projects will not only help us meet our ambitious target of generating the equivalent of all Scotland’s electricity needs to come from renewables by 2020, but also benefit their local communities.
“Scotland is already leading the way in the UK, helping communities across the country own their own energy projects, and to benefit from them – last year alone, CARES grants benefited more than 300 projects across Scotland.”
Mr Ewing said all the profits from the community-run schemes will remain with the communities and all those run by local businesses have committed to give at least 20% of their profits back to the locality.
It was also announced yesterday that the £10.3million Climate Challenge Fund, which supports community-led action to reduce emissions, is accepting new applications.
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