THE Scottish Government is awarding more than £8 million in funding to carbon-cutting projects across the country.
Eight projects will receive a share of the £8.7m investment total, with project partners matching funding, taking total investment to £24.4m.
The projects, funded through the Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme (LCITP), include the construction of a district heat network using heat from a wastewater treatment works in Renfrewshire and new air source heat pumps and energy efficiency measures for new social housing in the Highlands.
Together they’ll cut carbon emissions by around 4500 tonnes of CO2 a year – the equivalent to taking 2000 cars off the road.
This round of LCITP funding was designed to support Scotland’s Green Recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, supporting jobs while tackling climate change.
Since 2015, over £60 million has been committed through the LCITP, which is now drawing to a close.
A successor to the programme, which will focus on helping deliver Scotland’s Heat in Buildings vision, will be announced by this spring.
Zero Carbon Buildings minister Patrick Harvie said: “Meeting our ambitious climate targets will require rapid reduction in carbon emissions across our homes and buildings.
“So I am pleased to announce funding for these eight impressive projects, each of which demonstrates how, working together, we can ensure our homes and buildings are climate-friendly and bring benefits to communities and local economies across the country.
“We are continuing to engage with other exciting projects regarding funding opportunities and will soon announce plans for a successor to the LCITP which will provide significant investment in large-scale heat projects and heat networks.”
Aside from the Renfrewshire Council heat network project and social housing project in the Highlands, the six other projects set to be awarded funding include Edinburgh Airport, for an integrated energy system using solar power to supply energy and electric vehicle charging stations; SWG3 in Glasgow for an Air Source Heat Pump system (ASHPs) to heat and cool their Arts Centre, which will utilise heat recovered from cooling event spaces; North Fish in the Shetland Islands, for a wind turbine to generate heat in a number of industrial buildings; Glasgow City Council, to supply ASHPs in new build children’s nurseries; Trees for Life in the Highlands, for ASHPs, batteries, and solar panels for their new Trees for Life Rewilding Education Centre in Dundreggan; and Scottish Power Energy Networks in East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire and Highland for their Innovative Heat Pump project which involves installing heat pumps, thermal storage and batteries and assessing the impact of electrification on the electricity grid.
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