Partners

Our greatest partnership is with our community members and we  aim to support them by listening to their development needs and consulting them on areas of our work.  Community Energy Scotland also has partnership arrangements with other organisations,  both on an informal and a formal basis.

Highlands and Islands Enterprise

Community Energy Scotland has an arrangement with Highlands and Islands Enterprise to continue to provide support to community projects which were previously supported by the Highlands and Islands Community Energy Company.  Highland and Islands Enterprise also provides funding to Community Energy Scotland to support new emerging community energy projects within Highlands and Islands up to March 2009.

Climate Challenge Fund Alliance

Community Energy Scotland is a part of an alliance of key organisation and networks supported by the Scottish Government and co-ordinated by the Sustainable Development Commission Scotland (SDC). It exists to help communities develop and deliver projects which result in significant cuts in carbon emissions.

Schools Programme

Community Energy Scotland, funded by the Scottish Government and in conjunction with the Energy Savings Trust, has launched a programme to increase the uptake of sustainable energy measures in schools through Scotland.

Local People Leading

Local People Leading is an informal alliance of national networks, local community groups and individuals that has come together to campaign for a strong and independent community sector in Scotland.  This alliance has two main functions - to promote the work of local people in their communities and to influence national policy development. Community Energy Scotland is one of the community sector networks currently involved in Local People Leading, the voice for strong and independent communities.

Local Authorities

In some areas, HICEC (Community Energy Scotland's predecessor ) had an agreement with the local authority to match-fund community energy projects, such as with SCHRI small-scale projects in the Western Isles and Orkney.   This parternship greatly benefits the communities involved in these projects, as it makes the projects more affordable and reduces the level of additional funding which communities sometimes find difficult to secure.   Community Energy Scotland is keen to re-instate this arrangement between local authorities and the new company.

Community Powerdown

Community Powerdown is a programme involving a consortium of Community Energy Scotland, in partnership with Development Trusts Association Scotland, and 27 community groups across Scotland. The consortium has been awarded the highest funding to date from the Scottish Government's Climate Challenge Fund, creating 25 new community jobs.   The purpose of this programme is to empower community groups across Scotland to find ways of reducing their dependence on fossil fuels, decouple their development from energy consumption and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It is fundamentally focussed on promoting behavioural change across communities, led by local community organisations. Actions will be delivered largely by local community groups and will build skills, confidence and resilience at this level necessary to deal with the challenges of the emerging Peak Oil and Climate Change era.

Utility Companies

Community Energy Scotland is developing  relationships with the main utility companies to help ensure needs of community projects are fully understood.