piggy bank scale energy savings

First minister Nicola Sturgeon said the new funding would “ensure Scotland leads the way in energy efficiency”.

The Scottish government has released a further £11 million of funding for homes and businesses via local authorities in the second pilot phase of Scotland’s Energy Efficiency Programme (SEEP) pathfinder fund.

The new funding will help local authorities test new energy-saving approaches with households, community groups and businesses, which can then be taken forward when SEEP is rolled out fully in 2018.

Announcing the latest stage of the SEEP scheme this week, first minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “This unprecedented large-scale, long-term programme will make our homes warmer and places of work more comfortable. It will also drive down energy bills and help us meet our ambitious climate change targets.

“The second round of SEEP pilot funding will support local authorities to develop projects that build on the successful work we have already carried out and ensure Scotland leads the way in energy efficiency.”

The new scheme follows around £9 million awarded across 11 local authority areas in October 2016 under the first pathfinder fund, which saw energy saving measures installed across public sector and private commercial buildings.

Following an application phase closing in May, grants will be offered on 12 June to successful applicants with projects to be implemented by February 2019. A minimum of £250,000 is expected for each application, with no maximum limit within the total budget.

Finance will be offered in the form of grants, loans, guarantees or a combination of these, with the Scottish government to meet a maximum of 50% of project costs as grant.

SEEP is being developed to deliver the new national infrastructure priority for energy efficiency. The projects are part of the development phase of SEEP, which will run until 2018, after which the full delivery phase will begin, once further devolution of energy efficiency powers takes place under the Scotland Bill.