Communities in Scotland can now apply for new funding from a £4 million Great British Energy Scheme.

The funding targets local clean energy projects – from community-led onshore wind, to solar on rooftops and hydropower in rivers – with the potential to generate profits that could be reinvested into community projects, or take money off of people’s bills.

Great British Energy, the UK government’s publicly-owned clean power company, is attempting to give communities a larger stake in generating their own energy so people can reinvest profits to other projects and issues.

Great British Energy’s £4 million funding is part of the £8 million Community Energy Generation Growth Fund, with the remaining funding coming from the Scottish Government.

“This is our clean energy superpower mission in action – putting communities in the driving seat of energy generation and making sure people profit,” minister for energy Michael Shanks said.

“Great British Energy wants to kickstart a community energy revolution, empowering our towns and villages to become mini energy producers and reinvest profits back into the local community.”

Recommended reading

• Great British Energy | What You Need to Know
• Will Great British Energy Be Headquartered in Aberdeen?
• UK Gov Planning Bill to Fast-track Energy Projects

Project investment and development are two of Great British Energy’s five key functions, with also includes a local power plan, building supply chain partnerships, and exploring nuclear energy.

The announcement of Great British Energy was met with some controversy in Scotland, particularly in Aberdeen with its strong oil and gas industry.

While the publicly-owned energy company is set to be headquartered in Scotland, with reports that it would be headquartered in Aberdeen, perhaps to quell any misgivings.

The UK government is making wider moves to transition the UK energy supply away from oil and foreign supplies, as it introduced a bill in March that would accelerate funding for green energy projects throughout the country.

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