Mhairi MacSween, our development officer for the Highland area, shares insight into how the Let’s Do Net Zero Community Buildings Fund has supported communities in Scotland.
In August 2024, SSE Renewables announced the outcome of the latest round of their Highland Sustainable Development fund (HSDF). Local Energy Scotland was listed as one of the fund recipients. This fund was used to help communities in the Highland area to match fund their Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES) community buildings projects.
As a Development Officer for CARES in the Highlands area, I have seen the impact of this fund first hand. The HSDF has assisted with match funding for many community groups to install renewable technologies through the Local Energy Scotland So far nine projects have brought long-term positive impact and successfully contributed to Scotland’s transition to net zero. These community projects are:
- Acharacle Community Centre
- Oakwood Visitor Centre (Sunart Community Council)
- Nethy Bridge Community Centre
- Lochaber Hope and Carnegie (Tarbat) Hall
- Strathdearn Community Developments Hub and Café (The Strathdearn)
- Wick Development Trust River Campsite
- Glengarry Community Hall
- Kirkhill Community Centre
Sixteen further projects have been approved to install renewable technologies:
- Golspie Golf Club
- Raasay Heritage Trust
- Raasay Community Hall (Raasay Community Association)
- Staxigoe Village Hall
- Embo Community Centre
- Gairloch Community Hall
- Kincraig Village Hall
- Muir of Ord Hall & Hub
- Boleskine House Foundation
- Glenelg & Arnisdale Community Hall
- Culbokie Community Trust
- Achmore & Stromferry Hall
- Maryburgh Men’s Shed
- Camuscross & Duisdale Initiative
- Newstart Highland.
For these projects, Local Energy Scotland provided up to an 80% grant from CARES funding. The remaining 20% came from the HSDF, and allowed community groups that may not have been able to secure the additional funds elsewhere to proceed with their projects with full funding.
The HSDF shares the benefits of its onshore wind farms with wider regional communities, beyond those closest to its renewable assets. This is beneficial for communities in North West Sutherland, the West Coast and Lochaber as it’s unlikely that wind farms could be built in these locations due to environmental protection and wild land constraints. This means there isn’t access to community benefit funds.
Groups, often run solely by volunteers, could get on with delivering their project and Local Energy Scotland was able to access the match funds at the time the funds were required. A decision was received straight away as a result of the due diligence completed by Local Energy Scotland.
I went to see one of the communities benefiting from this approach first-hand. Local Energy Scotland supported Nethybridge Community Centre through a CARES capital grant of 80% intervention for the consents, installation and assisting with the procurement of 15.58kWp solar PV system and 3 x 13.5kW batteries. This project completed installation on Wednesday 30 August 2023.
The first month of operation exceeded expectations of solar energy produced by 15%. There was also a 90% reduction in power drawn from the grid in the first month of operation. This will help to reduce the running cost of the community centre, allowing a cost-effective space for the village to utilise and hire. The building is also an emergency centre so the additional power security now installed has further enhanced this village resource.
Mike Write, the director involved, said “CARES helped tremendously, guiding us through the evaluation and application process, enabling us to access a further 20% grant support from the SSE Highland Sustainable Development Fund.”
Additional info:
The Scottish Government’s Let’s Do Net Zero Community Buildings Fund has helped community organisations reduce their building energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions by installing renewable technologies such as heat pumps, batteries, and solar photovoltaic panels, along with energy efficiency measures.
It’s estimated the SSE Renewables-backed fund will contribute at least £57m to regional development across Scotland over the next two decades. This figure, and the life expectancy of the fund, will grow as SSE Renewables delivers more new onshore wind farms across Scotland. Last year SSE Renewables celebrated a decade of the Highland Sustainable Development Fund.
The fund typically provides an investment of £2,500 per MW of installed capacity from onshore wind farms in Scotland to community projects in the Highland, South Lanarkshire, Perth and Kinross, Scottish Borders and Dumfries and Galloway local authority regions.