Meeting of the Parliament 27 May 2025
I am grateful for the opportunity to open today’s debate and to shine an important spotlight on community-owned energy in Scotland.
The Scottish Government is committed to growing our economy in a way that also ends our contribution to climate change. Our drive to bring down emissions comes with huge potential for wealth creation, not least in our communities. To deliver a just transition, we must continue to work with communities, businesses, industry and the people of Scotland to plan for a future in which Scotland is a leader in low-emission systems and technologies, with all the jobs and reduction in the cost of living that can come from that.
It is essential that our communities reap the benefits of the transition, which is about the outcome—a fairer, greener, more resilient and prosperous future—and the way in which we get there. The transition will be in partnership with our citizens and based on an understanding and acceptance of the reasons why it is a priority for the nation’s health, wellbeing and vibrant economy, for us and our children for decades to come.
Community energy plays a particularly important role in empowering communities to take ownership of their energy future. Communities owning their own wind, solar and other renewable projects puts them at the centre of the revolution in power generation, while bringing in valuable revenue that can be directed towards community priorities, such as tackling fuel poverty, upgrading local infrastructure and supporting community events.
The Scottish Government has a long history of supporting the delivery of projects in community-led renewable energy, energy demand reduction and energy supply. The impact of community energy over time is demonstrated by the work of the Point and Sandwick Trust on the Isle of Lewis. That project began in 2005 as a public discussion on the possibility of developing a large community-owned wind farm on common grazing grounds. The project developed from there, with support from a community and renewable energy Scotland scheme—CARES—loan.
By 2015, installation had been completed and the turbines were energised, and it became one of the biggest community-owned wind farms in the whole of the United Kingdom. Today, it produces around £900,000 a year in net income for the local community. Once capital costs have been repaid, it is expected to generate up to £2 million a year. Those funds support projects in and around the local area, providing valuable benefits for the community.
The Scottish Government is determined to build on these community energy successes with our new community energy generation growth fund, which will provide up to £8 million to boost community energy in Scotland. That includes £4 million that the Scottish Government has secured from Great British Energy to support community and local energy in Scotland, alongside £4 million of Scottish Government funding.
That programme for government commitment will help to grow the pipeline of community energy in Scotland, enabling more communities to benefit from owning their own renewable energy projects. The community energy generation growth fund is a significant expansion on last year’s pilot and will help to deliver the social and financial benefits of the energy transition directly to Scotland’s communities.