Scotland’s energy minister Fergus Ewing has announced a new £103 million investment fund designed to drive the growth of renewable energy in Scotland.
The Renewable Energy Investment Fund (REIF) will initially focus on supporting communities and rural businesses to develop their own local renewable projects. It will also support district heating, and wave and tidal developers with the development and deployment of array projects.
The fund, which is in addition to the £200 million already committed by the Scottish government in the Spending Review over the next three years, will also seek to leverage extra finance from other sources.
The REIF will also complement funding from the Green Investment Bank (GIB), which has recently received additional funding from Scotland’s Fossil Fuel Levy. The GIB is designed for projects at “near commercial” stage, while the REIF will support projects earlier in the development phase.
Ewing also said an additional £2 million had been earmarked to support community renewables for 2012 to 2013, building on the existing Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES).
Commenting, Ewing said: “This £103 million Renewable Energy Investment Fund will allow communities all over Scotland to reap the benefits of our green energy revolution. Scotland has astounding green energy potential and vast natural resources, and we have a responsibility to make sure our nation seizes this opportunity to create tens of thousands of new jobs and secure billions of pounds of investment in our economy.
“This fund will help us make the most of our potential. Some have called on us to increase funding for marine technologies—this fund does that, demonstrates our commitment to marine and will ensure marine renewable projects become commercial realities. It will help ensure district heating is rolled out throughout Scotland, and will support communities developing their own local renewables projects.”
He concluded: “The fund will not replicate existing grant and loan support. Instead, it will focus on investment by offering new and innovative instruments which complement existing funding routes. That is what this fund is all about—investing money from the technologies of the past to secure our energy future.”
