Eleven different projects across Argyll and Bute are to benefit from almost £1 million in funding from the Scottish Government’s Climate Challenge Fund. The money will be used to make a significant difference in carbon emissions. A total of £908, 294 has been awarded to Argyll and Bute which is 11% of the total money available.

The biggest award will go to the Rosneath Peninsula West Community Development Trust which will be used to carry out home energy checks throughout the area to improve energy efficiency. It will also go towards pre-development work on a community owned wind farm which would make a massive contribution to reducing CO2. The project will benefit from more than £238,000.

Bute will benefit from cash for two different projects. The Bute Community Land Company is getting £41,000 for the Balnakailly Hydro Scheme. It’ll carry out a feasibility study for the community owned hydro scheme which could see a reduction of 228 tonnes in carbon emissions.  Elsewhere on the island more than £100,000 is going to Fyne Futures Ltd who will look into generating energy from renewable sources on Bute and help make it more independent of the mainland.

Another smaller project which will benefit from the fund is the Strachur Memorial Hall Committee. £7,500 will go towards a new heating system which will allow rooms to be heated only when they are booked out to user groups.

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Notes:

For a full list of the projects that have benefited from the Climate Challenge Fund go to......

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Environment/climatechange/howyoucanhelp/communities/ClimateChallengeFund/ccfround81112

The Climate Challenge Fund aims to help Scottish communities make a real difference by significantly reducing their carbon emissions. It was proposed by the Scottish Greens during the 2007 Scottish Parliamentary elections, and adopted by the Scottish Government as part of the budget negotiations in early 2008. The Fund is £27.4m over three years (2008-11).

Grants are available to empower communities to take action to reduce their carbon footprint and make a real difference to the local and national environment by significantly reducing their carbon emissions. There is no set grant amount, no minimum, but a £1m maximum. Projects seeking more than £1m of grant funding from the Climate Challenge Fund may apply if they can demonstrate a particularly high potential carbon saving and clear alignment with the other fund criteria. Applicants are not required to find funding from other sources but joint-funded projects are welcome. However, applicants must check the conditions of grant issued by other grant funders as they may not allow funding of a project from another source.