Community Energy Scotland
The final item of business is a members' business debate on motion S3M-2684, in the name of Dave Thompson, on welcoming the launch of Community Energy Scotland. The debate will be concluded without any question being put.
Motion debated,
That the Parliament welcomes the launch of Community Energy Scotland, the new Highland-based Scottish charity that has taken over the work of the Highlands and Islands Community Energy Company to support communities throughout Scotland to develop sustainable energy projects; commends the organisation's aim to build confidence, resilience and wealth at community level in Scotland through sustainable energy development, and further commends its leadership role in the growing grass-roots movement dedicated to reinforcing local control and decision-making within the community sector through sustainable energy development and the contribution that this will make to achieving Scotland's ambitious climate change targets.
I thank the members whose support for my motion has enabled this debate to take place. The debate gives me an opportunity to welcome the launch of Community Energy Scotland and to bring the work of that excellent new organisation to wider attention. Members who were able to attend the Community Energy Scotland reception in the garden lobby last month to hear the presentation by the team led by Nicholas Gubbins, who was also at this morning's meeting of the Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee, and people involved in projects around the country will know of the organisation's work. I will fill in the background for those who were not able to make it.
What is now Community Energy Scotland began life in 2002 as the community energy unit—a handful of Highlands and Islands Enterprise staff charged with the task of helping communities throughout the Highlands and Islands to benefit from small-scale renewable energy projects. The team's success led to the formation in 2004 of the Highlands and Islands Community Energy Company—HICEC. With funding from HIE and the Scottish Government, HICEC subsequently helped hundreds of community groups throughout the Highlands and Islands to benefit from renewable energy. It soon became obvious to staff that there was much greater demand for their help from groups around Scotland than had previously been envisaged. For that reason, they established Community Energy Scotland, a Scotland-wide charity. Although the team has grown considerably to meet its new remit, I am delighted and proud that its headquarters remain in the Highlands—in fact, just down the road from my regional office in Dingwall.
Membership costs just £10. For that, community groups gain up-to-date information on project development and funding, and the opportunity to join a network that includes many other like-minded groups. Membership also brings voting rights, which ensures that communities have real influence on the activities and future direction of the new network. Community Energy Scotland aims over the coming year to develop throughout Scotland a free advice service to enable a face-to-face approach, which is important in confidence building.
Capacity building in communities is central to the work and ethos of Community Energy Scotland. Rightly, the organisation sees that as being crucial to building skills and abilities in the communities in which it works. Only by building capacity in those communities, wherever they happen to be, can we provide them with the ability and resources to manage renewable energy projects. Most projects are run voluntarily by community members, who have great need of support and help along the way to develop the range of skills that they need.
Great examples of how the approach can succeed in practice were given by members of community groups who spoke at last month's reception. First, Jacqui MacLeod of the Isle of Gigha Heritage Trust told us how Gigha has been able to develop the first community-owned wind farm in the United Kingdom. That landmark project, with just three turbines, meets all Gigha's energy needs and exports the surplus to the mainland, which will provide the community with an annual net income of around £80,000. Community members were at each stage consulted through a series of meetings that took place throughout the development of the project. The Gigha community has named the turbines Creideas, Dòchas and Carthannas—Gaelic for Faith, Hope and Charity. Collectively, they call them the dancing ladies. The financial model around the project was based on a combination of grant funding, loan funding and equity, including an £80,000 shareholding from HIE.
Secondly, Ian Leaver of the Isle of Eigg Heritage Trust told people at the reception of the recent electrification of the island and the difference that has made to the lives of islanders. The isle of Eigg electrification scheme is now commissioned and operational, with 100 per cent take-up. All 37 households and five commercial properties on the island are connected—they now have their very own supply of renewable electricity. The effect of the electrification project on the Eigg community has been significant. In a number of ways, it is leading to greater self-sufficiency. The electrification scheme is the first island electrical grid network in the UK that is powered by an integrated mix of microscale renewable energy technologies. The island harnesses solar and kinetic energy by generating electricity using a mix of renewable technologies, including a new 10kW solar photovoltaic array, a new 100kW run-of-river hydro facility, wind power from four new 6kW wind turbines and the inclusion of two existing 6kW hydros.
Finally, Angela Williams of the Knoydart Foundation spoke of that community's off-grid hydro scheme, which supplies householders and businesses in Knoydart. Although it is on the mainland, Knoydart is accessible only by sea. To all intents and purposes, it is an island community, and it is not grid-connected. One of the first projects for the foundation was the upgrade of the 280kW hydroelectric scheme that supplied electricity to the local community. It was viewed as a key project with social and economic benefits for the community. Since then, the foundation has increased the number of connections from 42 to 65 properties—residential, business and community; upgraded the distribution network; put in place a monitoring system; undertaken training for board members and staff; and undertaken phase 1 of a study into hydrogen production using spare capacity from the hydro station.
Just this month, it was announced that two groups that Community Energy Scotland had been working with in Orkney have secured planning consent for wind-turbine projects. That will allow the Stronsay community and the Rousay, Egilsay and Wyre Development Trust to develop single turbines, which have the potential to bring enormous social and economic benefits to their island communities.
Community Energy Scotland is already working with communities in other parts of Scotland, but it is realistic in understanding that it faces a major task to replicate in other areas the success that it has achieved in the Highlands and Islands. Its vision and ambition was clearly set out by the chairman, Alan Hobbett, who was here in the Parliament last month. He said:
"Over the next ten years, we want to see thousands of community-owned renewable energy projects across Scotland, from small ‘micro-renewable' energy plants to larger scale wind farms, wood-fuelled district heating plants, anaerobic digesters and even wind-powered electric transport, all owned by communities at a local level.
These projects can bring real benefits to communities, helping to reduce energy costs and even to bring much needed cash into the community—while helping reduce Scotland's greenhouse gas emissions and establish Scotland as a leader in renewable energy development."
I believe that he is right on all those counts. I hope that members will join me not only in welcoming the launch of Community Energy Scotland, but in lending their support to its work by spreading the word in their areas.
I congratulate Dave Thompson on securing the debate. I had the pleasure of having a short conversation at the Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee this morning with Community Energy Scotland's chief executive, Nicholas Gubbins, who had a lot of important contributions to make. The company has been operating in its current guise only since August this year, but was running under its predecessor's name for at least five, if not six, years. It has achieved a great deal in that time. Officially, its job is
"to build confidence, resilience and wealth at community level in Scotland through sustainable energy development."
I prefer the other description on its website, which puts it in far simpler terms:
"We were set up to help communities make the most of opportunities available to them … installing micro-generation technologies into community halls and other facilities can help reduce running costs."
That pretty much hits the nail on the head.
The chief executive of Community Energy Scotland told us this morning that community energy has enormous potential—as, I think, all parties accept—but that much of that potential is currently untapped. There are many obstacles, but a great benefit of Community Energy Scotland is that because of the breadth and depth of projects in which it has been involved during the past six years, it has enormous experience. It has learned from each project and can help communities to pass on their knowledge to other communities. I hope that that expertise will eventually spread outside the Highlands and Islands.
At any one time, Community Energy Scotland has more than 100 active projects, and over the piece at least 200 projects have been completed and are functioning. The organisation has been active in many communities, particularly in the mainland Highlands and Argyll, although the Outer Hebrides, Orkney and Shetland appear to have a number of projects. I am told that there is even a small office in Glasgow, so the organisation's operations appear to be moving south. I hope that the Lothians, too, will benefit from its experience in the months and years to come.
I like that Community Energy Scotland does not focus on one type of renewable energy, such as wind farms, an excellent example of which was mentioned by Dave Thompson. The organisation works on projects that involve air-source heat pumps, biomass, solar energy, water-source heat pumps, micro-hydroelectric energy, photovoltaic energy and automated wood-fuel heating. It has dealt with projects of various sizes, from initiatives to secure microgenerators for community halls to projects that affect entire communities.
We heard this morning about some of the issues and obstacles on which we need to focus. Distribution is a particular problem. Transmission difficulties are well known throughout the industry and Community Energy Scotland could play a role in highlighting distribution problems. We heard that one project is on hold because it would cost £1.8 million to get it on to the network.
I am sure that there will be more projects, and I hope that some of them will be in the Lothians. I look forward to seeing the database of projects that the organisation says it will put together, so that we can ascertain how it is performing in practice.
Community Energy Scotland's work will reduce energy costs for communities, empower communities to shape their future and reduce carbon emissions. I am pleased to support Dave Thompson's motion.
I, too, warmly congratulate Dave Thompson on securing the debate. My former colleague Andrew Arbuckle lodged a similar motion in 2006, but it is fair to say that since then the importance of community energy projects has increased and the full extent of their potential has gained greater recognition, although I accept what Gavin Brown said about there continuing to be barriers. The motion highlights the link between renewable energy projects and the economic viability and sustainability of many of Scotland's most fragile communities.
Of course, I would argue that it would have been more appropriate to base Community Energy Scotland in the islands but, like Dave Thompson, I welcome the fact that a body that is based in the Highlands has been handed a nationwide remit, which reflects the leading role that the Highlands and Islands have played in the development of community energy. I acknowledge the tremendous work of HICEC in that regard.
The change in name will not herald a wholesale change in personnel. Many people who have played a decisive part in the success of community energy will make a seamless transition to the new structure. Sam Harcus, from my constituency, personifies that phenomenon. He has been a driving force in the Westray community, so it came as little surprise when he was elected last year to serve as a councillor for all of the north isles. However, Sam is perhaps best known for his work on community renewables projects. He was previously the local HICEC officer and he has taken on a similar role in Community Energy Scotland, which illustrates my point. He was also instrumental in taking forward the work of the Westray Development Trust from its inception under the aegis of the previous Executive's initiative at the edge. In that context, the motion makes a valuable point about the link between community energy projects and the building of "confidence, resilience and wealth" in small, remote communities.
The development trusts, now established on most of the Orkney islands, have taken, and continue to take, advantage of community energy projects to build capacity and viability in each island. They also give people confidence—the confidence that, provided with the right tools, they can help to shape how their islands develop.
It pains me, as a Sanday man, to acknowledge the lead that Westray has taken. As well as the on-going development of a community turbine project, Westray also boasts an exciting pilot initiative in anaerobic digestion, using slurry and other animal waste to generate heat, electricity and biodiesel. Sam Harcus and his collaborator Colin Risbridger are often seen driving around the island in their biodiesel-fuelled Astra. Meanwhile, the parish kirk and Kalisgarth care home draw heavily on other renewables technologies.
Other islands are adopting their own approach. Sanday has three turbines—not the dancing ladies, which can be found elsewhere on the island—that see funds channelled to island projects through the Spurness community benefit fund. As has been mentioned, last week saw consent granted to community single turbine projects on Rousay and Stronsay. The latter already has three turbines, but the community is determined to adopt a different approach in the next phase of development, and to ensure that more of the revenue is retained in the island. William Caithness, the island's development trust officer, summed it up when he said:
"this is now the first real step towards making our community sustainable in the long term".
Eday has been given consent under delegated powers, while decisions are expected soon on similar turbine projects in Hoy, Shapinsay, South Ronaldsay and Burray. As a resident of Burray, I am conscious of the need not to take a cavalier attitude to the proposed development on the island, notwithstanding its potential economic and social significance. However, it is generally acknowledged that the existing Burray turbine is an excellent example of a community-backed and owned project. It is one that other communities in Orkney have long sought to emulate. On a personal level, at the end of each week the Burray turbine stands as a striking and welcome confirmation that I will soon be home.
The debate tomorrow morning will provide a further opportunity to develop points about the contribution that small-scale renewables and energy efficiency can and must make in helping us to achieve our climate change objectives. For this evening, however, it is right that we celebrate the success of community energy projects in playing their part environmentally, socially and economically. I warmly congratulate HICEC and Community Energy Scotland on their achievements to date. I wish all those involved well in taking the work forward, and I welcome the opportunity to participate in this evening's debate.
I, too, congratulate Dave Thompson on securing today's debate. I pay tribute to all those who have been involved in the Highlands and Islands Community Energy Company, and I wish the company's transition to Community Energy Scotland every success.
As others have said, the potential for renewable energy in my region, the Highlands and Islands, is massive, and we would all agree that community involvement from the beginning is crucial to the success of renewable energy projects. There have been some good examples of such involvement. Dave Thompson stole my thunder and the joke that I was going to tell about the three naked ladies—the three turbines on the isle of Gigha, which made £100,000 profit for the community in their first year.
Last night, along with my Highlands and Islands colleagues, I took part in a seminar hosted by Viking Energy on its proposed Shetland wind farm, which would rely on a subsea cable between Shetland and the east coast of Moray. Such operations will help people in Shetland to keep the high standard of living to which they have become accustomed thanks to the oil revenues of the past, which will not last for ever.
I have just read the First Minister's call for a North Sea supergrid partnership as a milestone in Scotland becoming the green energy capital of Europe. It is a great concept, as long as it is backed up by practical suggestions on how that can be achieved. If we are going to be the capital, we must start with a few counties.
A constituent on the Isle of Jura has expressed his huge frustration at not being able to take forward a small-scale hydro scheme because of the lack of infrastructure on the island. We need a Government that has a real energy strategy and gives a steer on the form that energy production should take and the infrastructure that will carry it. I live in Argyll and Bute, where a good many wind farms are situated near hydro stations of the past because the infrastructure already exists to carry the electricity. We cannot put the cart before the horse.
This morning, listening to BBC Radio 4, I heard that Ironbridge coal-fired power station had not met the European Union acid rain regulations and so is due to close down, along with eight or nine other coal-fired power stations. Add to those the four nuclear power stations that are due to go into decommissioning by 2015, and one can begin to understand why there are already warnings about the energy gap and lights going out everywhere.
New nuclear power stations offer an answer because they are carbon neutral, but on the principle that it is never wise to put all one's eggs into one basket, community energy projects are to be desired and encouraged. The Scottish Conservatives will certainly encourage them wherever they are appropriate.
I emphasise to the minister the difficulties that are being faced by small hydro schemes that have to abide by the new controlled activities regulations to which Scotland signed up under the European water framework directive. The licences that are now required are making the job far more expensive in Scotland than in England. Small hydro schemes are ideal for the Scottish climate and topography and they should be encouraged rather than held back by the CARs. I ask the minister to comment on that particular problem.
I rise to support Dave Thompson's motion, to join him in welcoming the launch to which it refers and, notwithstanding what Liam McArthur said, to welcome the fact that the organisation is located in the Highlands and Islands.
Jamie McGrigor referred to the three naked ladies; I must confess that I was sure that Dave Thompson talked about the three dancing ladies. If Jamie McGrigor can let us into the secret of their location later, I am sure that members would be grateful.
I simply referred to the fact that the turbines have not got any clothes on.
Indeed, and we know about Jamie's reputation in such matters.
It is interesting that this development has grown out of what the Highlands and Islands Development Board and Highlands and Islands Enterprise did in the past with the development of social enterprise. Community Energy Scotland follows on from the development of community co-ops back in the late 1970s and into the 1980s. Many of those co-ops struggled because they were right on the edge of economic adversity.
What is interesting about the work that has been going on for the past few years, and which will continue, is that the economic opportunities that will arise out of Community Energy Scotland are far more significant that those that used to be available to community co-ops in difficult circumstances. Both initiatives have grown from the same stable.
I have observed that people are now much more interested in how they can play a part, both individually and in the community, in combating climate change. They will increasingly be able to do so because of the current and future work of Community Energy Scotland, through small-scale wind farms, the potential district heating system, small hydroelectric schemes, biomass, heat pumps and the like. I could go on listing the different kinds of technology.
Dave Thompson was right to refer to the Eigg enterprise and the breakthrough that it helped to make in land reform. What happened in Knoydart and what is going to happen on Stronsay are also very good examples of how communities can take advantage of opportunities, make progress with economic development and make a contribution to finding solutions to climate change, which concerns people.
Some schemes can generate huge incomes—relative to the scale of their communities. That gives communities an enormous opportunity to invest in their social fabric, sustain their populations and stimulate other economic development. In contrast with the old community co-op form of social enterprise, the new scheme is much more liberating and exciting and has much more long-term potential. This movement of change, in which communities take more control and ownership of their energy needs, contribute to climate change solutions and help to build confidence by taking responsibility for their circumstances, is very much in the spirit of land reform, on which the Parliament enacted significant legislation in its early years.
I welcome what is happening and the continuing move towards community empowerment, of which Community Energy Scotland is one example. I wish every enterprise that will tackle such issues in future success, and I wish Community Energy Scotland every success in supporting those communities.
I congratulate Dave Thompson on securing the debate. The work on community energy that is being done throughout the country has not gone unnoticed furth of Scotland. Quite soon, we might become an example, not just to England and Wales, but to Europe. Remarkable progress has been made. Only three weeks ago, in my capacity as convener of the cross-party group in the Scottish Parliament on renewable energy and energy efficiency, I was invited to address a conference in Berwick-upon-Tweed, just across the border. People in the north of England are extremely interested in what we are doing on that front in Scotland and are looking to us as an example to follow and as a source of ideas to adopt across that region.
I would like briefly to develop what Peter Peacock said about the future: rural Scotland has a huge future in community energy. Not only does rural Scotland have a huge future in community energy, it is a huge necessity that it embraces community energy. As we approach the middle of the next century, energy security will be one of the top priorities across Europe and the world. It is extremely important that we embed energy security in our rural areas, which are usually the first to suffer when prices go up and security of supply of anything from energy through to food and pots and pans is affected, and I know that that is recognised throughout the Parliament.
Earlier this year, I was lucky enough to visit Holland in the company of a group of architects from Glasgow. Every year, John Gilbert Architects takes its whole team to another European country to look at what is being done there. This year, it went to Holland. We took a look at what the Dutch are doing in architecture, insulation and small-scale energy production. It is interesting that Holland has what is possibly Europe's only centre of the kind—it is a bit like a supermarket where one can buy off-the-shelf products whose energy efficiency has been evaluated, including every kind of insulation that one can think of, as well as all kinds of rooftop wind turbine. It sells things that look like Archimedes' screws that go straight up in the air, as well as things that look like goodness knows what—one would think that they would be dragged across a cricket pitch to flatten it, but they actually go across the rooftree and revolve horizontally. It is an extremely exciting place where people can pick up the best of the latest technology. It would be enormously useful if Community Energy Scotland could, with a little bit of help from Government, get industry to set up a similar facility in Scotland for anyone who is interested in improving their energy efficiency or in setting up small-scale energy production.
As regards the scale of what is happening, so far the communities involved have all been relatively small, but I am quite sure that in the next few years, particularly in the north of Scotland, we could have wonderful schemes, whether in communities the size of Bettyhill or in communities the size of Ullapool. Community energy projects are not restricted to small rural communities; we should think big in the next 10 to 20 years and consider how medium-sized small towns across Scotland, but particularly in the north of the country, could take advantage of everything that is on offer.
I again congratulate Dave Thompson on securing the debate.
I congratulate Dave Thompson not only on securing the debate but on launching it in such an informed and informative way. Other members have augmented what he said. I now know a lot more about Westray, Sanday, Rousay and Stronsay than I did before, and I am pleased to hear that Sam Harcus has made good use of the biomass support scheme to make the progress that he has.
I welcome the motion. I was pleased to be in the garden lobby on 7 October to celebrate the formal launch of Community Energy Scotland in the Parliament. In its former incarnation as the Highlands and Islands Community Energy Company, it had a terrific track record of getting many community renewables projects off the ground. I was pleased to hear Gavin Brown say that he was looking forward to the relentless march of CES out of the Highlands to a community near him. What was demonstrated in the garden lobby was the confidence of successful communities that have made renewable energy work for them in that intelligent way of the new self-sufficiency, which is generating more confidence and more resilience, and is retaining wealth in situ. That strong link is important. Peter Peacock said that we now have viable models that might trigger other projects with momentum. Such projects are almost franchises with no franchise fee or royalty payment.
It is great to see what CES has managed. Nearly all its achievements have been a direct result of funding by the Scottish Government—both the previous Administration and the current one—in the Scottish community and householder renewables initiative. We very much share the ambition that community renewables can drive things forward, which is why we have tripled the funding for community microgeneration. We look forward to the new grants scheme next year, which will focus on maximising community benefits and engagement. There is continuity here, and it is increasingly clear, as we look forward to the renewable energy framework, that the role of social enterprise is particularly potent in harnessing the potential for renewables, driving local regeneration, and promoting solidarity, cohesion and sustainability in our communities. The key role for an enterprising third sector is to help us to achieve those objectives.
Although I welcome the addition of another home-grown organisation such as CES to the fold, I make it clear from the outset that CES is a potential bidder under the competitive procurement process that is under way for the delivery of our community renewables support programme from April 2009. In line with European Union guidelines, that process is open and transparent. All bidders, including CES if it wishes to bid, will be treated equitably and fairly. In congratulating CES, I am not implying any prejudice in that process.
Meanwhile, there is a clear and pressing need to transform the energy sector in Scotland to help to achieve the carbon reductions to which we are committed. The good news is that there are tremendous opportunities for Scotland to benefit economically from actions that safeguard the environment. The Scottish Government aims to create a more successful country, with opportunities for all to flourish through increased sustainable growth. In that context, the third sector, including social enterprise, is a vital contributor. In that goal, at a national and local level, that crucial role exists not only generally but specifically, in the delivery by social enterprises of specific skills, and the proven models that are essentially, as I mentioned, the franchise without the franchise fee.
When we consider how energy is supplied, we can see that energy is no longer only within the remit of the big multinationals.
I should digress to address a specific point that Jamie McGrigor raised, which has also been raised with me from the same location in Jura. We have met the people in question, the British Hydropower Association, and Nick Forrest, who produced the wonderful plan that told us where 650MW of small-scale hydro that was both economically viable and environmentally acceptable was available in Scotland. I can tell Mr McGrigor that the hydro sub-group of the forum for renewable energy development in Scotland is focused on this issue. We are endeavouring to make the process as straightforward as possible and to ensure that communities and individuals can be the suppliers of that potential 650MW. Those people will have a deep respect for the environment. As Mr McGrigor knows, social responsibility goes along with that.
Scotland has a fantastic opportunity: we have great wealth and great potential in energy, and we have local resilience. The combination of those two factors is what will make this whole issue so rewarding. It is seemly that this is happening in rural Scotland. People there have suffered from low growth over many long years, and times are especially challenging just now. It is therefore nice that CES and other initiatives can help rural Scotland to confront the challenges and can bolster local economies and local quality of life.
The initiatives may do more than just effect successful social enterprises in the area of renewable energy; they may also catalyse yet more initiatives. I am happy to advertise the fact that in my constituency we are trying to activate every single sector and, in the process, bring the sectors together. An energised local energy sector can sell energy to the local authority, to schools, to hospitals and to other local businesses. It can perhaps create businesses that, because they are energy intensive, would not be so viable without that local energy.
We are now pushing forward with our renewable energy framework, which I mentioned earlier and which has been published on the Scottish Government's website. Our work can be materially helped by a healthy focus on renewables by the third sector. The third sector has a lot to offer: it can bring social and regional equity, and it can allow locations such as Westray, Sandray, Gigha and Eigg to broadcast what they are doing and cross-pollinate with other places.
We are in a unique situation and I wish CES and others well. In social enterprises and in renewable energy, this generation can leave a legacy and can start levelling the playing fields for rural locations. Future generations will be able to have a new beginning in a rural setting.
Meeting closed at 17:42.