SNP MSP FOR South Scotland Emma Harper has encouraged Dumfries & Galloway Council to apply for a share of the Scottish Government’s £11m fund to deliver energy efficiency improvements to homes, businesses and public buildings and community projects.
The second wave of Scotland’s Energy Efficiency Programme (SEEP) pilot fund will help local authorities test new and innovative energy-saving approaches which can then be taken forward when SEEP is rolled out fully in 2018, once the Scotland Bill brings further devolution of energy efficiency powers.
Emma said:
“The Scottish Government’s £11m funding pot to help improve energy efficiency in homes, businesses and public buildings in Scotland is a great opportunity for local communities, supporting local projects that build on the successful work already carried out and ensuring Scotland leads the way in energy efficiency.
“I am calling on Dumfries & Galloway Council to submit proposals on how they’d use this funding to help meet local energy needs more efficiently and at a lower cost, whilst also helping tackle climate change.
“Fuel poverty remains a very significant issue in this region with as much as 40% of households officially in fuel poverty, which is defined as having to spend more than 10% of your take-home household income on heating your home, and this week I have been meeting with constituents who are seriously struggling to heat their homes.
“The SNP Government has delivered almost one million energy efficiency measures to almost one million Scottish households since 2008 and invested more than £650 million over the last eight years. I’d encourage as many communities as possible to come up with their own proposals to make use of this vital funding to help transform energy efficiency in their area.”
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.
