Point on Lewis is going to be the site of an innovative alternative energy scheme, which could pioneer local installation of small-scale renewable energy projects.

The project aims to provide solar power to light a toilet block at Bayble Beach - while also providing training for up to six local people so that it is possible to start developing on-Island expertise in this area of work.

At present almost all the small-scale projects that have got under way - such as the lighting in Perceval Square, Stornoway - have been installed by mainland firms.

Now there is a drive by Western Isles Enterprise (WIE) to bring additional benefits to the Islands through the development of new skills and work opportunities.

The project for solar-powered lighting at the recently developed toilet block at Bayble Beach was put forward by Point Community Council and has won funding from the Scottish Community and Household Renewables Initiative and the Community Energy Unit.

An initial project involving training for a Western Isles contractor will take place next month in Glenelg in Lochalsh where a community hall is having a heatpump installed to provide heating.  The Bayble scheme's training day will take place on Wednesday 13th August and will involve a half-day of theory, to be taught in a room at Bayble School, and a half-day of practical experience at the installation site itself.

The training is aimed at experienced electricians who want to add a new skill to their range of activities. The training will be provided by Charlie Robb of Element Engineering in Edinburgh, which has provided similar training in the past.

Both the training in Bayble on solar power and the one in Glenelg on heat pump installation have been set up as pilots on a small scale to test out the concept. After evaluation, it is expected similar training events will be repeated on a wider scale in the future. There are other proposals ahead for small-scale hydro-electric and wind turbine installations where similar efforts would be made to develop local skills.

The hope is that the local people who benefit from this training will be able to undertake other installations in the future, perhaps under expert supervision initially, and this will start to reduce the delays and higher costs which these projects have faced because of the need to bring installers over from the mainland.

Donnie Macaulay, chief executive of WIE, said: "We want to see the maximum community benefit from renewable energy, especially in terms of jobs and skills.  At WIE we are also keen to develop local expertise in this field to be able to undertake feasibility studies of this size of project, again avoiding the need to bring in people from the mainland."