Barra and Vatersay has been selected to take part in a pilot project to develop local energy plans.
The initiative is part of the Community Benefits of Civic Energy (COBEN) Project.
The scheme aims to move community energy from a focus of electricity generation supported by subsidies to a more whole system approach where communities’ energy generation, energy efficiency, heat, storage and future usage needs are considered together.
Euan Scott of Coimhearsnachd Bharraidh agus Bhatarsaidh said: “Having progressed a community wind turbine project we are now looking for new opportunities around local supply and consumption of energy that will benefit the community, against a backdrop of grid constraint.
Barra and Vatersay involved in pilot community energy project
7 August 2017
“As an island community Barra and Vatersay face the challenges of energy dependency on fossil fuels, high transportation costs, limited economic diversification and access to markets.
“The COBEN project is an opportunity to address this through looking at the use and the supply of energy for heat, power and transport as a whole and developing a plan for the future.”