Community energy

Community energy 

We've been involved in leading and supporting the growth of community energy developments in Scotland since 2002. Our region is recognised as a leader in community energy innovation. Many local groups are trailblazing innovative developments and leading their communities through a transition to a strong, low carbon economy.

Our focus 

Recognising the opportunities and benefits of communities utilising community energy projects, we will focus our efforts on: 

• Direct ownership
  By building on the strong platform of investment made in recent years, we will maximise the number of communities who can benefit from community-owned renewable energy projects.
  
  
• Shared ownership
  We will support communities to invest in commercial development opportunities such as those on the National Forest Estate and beyond.
  
  
• Community energy economies
  In addition to funding policy forming research, we will invest in the development of innovative approaches to overcome local level grid constraints to facilitate local use of energy. We have been working with Community Energy Scotland to develop this Local Energy Economy agenda.
  
  
• Innovative finance solutions
  We will also focus on innovative funding solutions as the majority of small scale opportunities are unlikely to attractive mainstream funders. Existing and new funding will help communities across the region benefit from the significant potential of local energy solutions.