Community priority for Renewable Energy Investment Fund
Community Energy Scotland welcomes today’s announcement by the First Minister of a new multi-million pound renewable energy investment fund (REIF).
One of the initial priorities for the fund is community-owned renewables, as well as wave and tidal energy and renewable district heating schemes.
Eric Dodd, Head of Operations at Community Energy Scotland said:
We welcome the announcement of the opening of the REIF fund and the priority it gives to community owned renewables. This is another facility for communities to access funding to assist them to develop their own renewable energy projects. We look forward to working with communities to access this funding.
The Fund is designed to complement existing public and private sector finance schemes available in Scotland, providing bespoke investment deals typically involving loans, loan guarantees and equity finance alongside co-investment partners. The fund will be delivered by the Scottish Investment Bank on behalf of the Scottish Government and its enterprise agencies, with the first deals expected to be completed by the end of the financial year.
In his announcement, the First Minister, Alex Salmond said:
We are determined to ensure Scotland is among the world’s key destinations for investment in low carbon technologies, building on our long-established reputation in engineering, innovation and financial services. This fund will help leverage further significant private finance into key areas of the renewables sector where specific funding gaps have been identified.
Alongside other initiatives such as the £18 million Marine Renewables Commercialisation fund, £70 million National Renewables Infrastructure fund and our Community & Renewable Energy (CARES) scheme, the REIF will support a wide range of projects to create jobs, investment and sustainable energy generation in communities across Scotland.
