Net Zero grant funding confirmed for Scottish public sector

£11 million of grant funding has been confirmed for public sector bodies in Scotland.

Leisure centres, schools and universities will be able to use the money to accelerate the decarbonisation of their properties.

Seven projects will share grants for clean heating and energy efficiency improvements totalling £11 million from the £20 million Public Sector Heat Decarbonisation Fund.

This is the first time direct grant awards have been made to public sector bodies instead of loans.

Scotland’s Public Sector Heat Decarbonisation Fund will eventually replace the existing Scottish Energy Efficiency Loan Scheme, which has been running since 2006.

The money is part of £200 million already committed to the public sector for energy efficiency and renewable heating over the next five years.

Patrick Harvie, zero carbon buildings minister at the time of the announcement said: “Heat from our homes and buildings is responsible for around a fifth of Scotland’s overall emissions so there is no route to delivering Net Zero by 2045 without tackling this. Not just our homes but our schools, universities, offices, hospitals and libraries also need to improve their energy efficiency and make the move to clean heating.

“We are absolutely committed to addressing Scotland’s reliance on direct emission heating systems that produce greenhouse gas emissions when we use them, which is why we have consulted on ambitious proposals for a Heat in Buildings Bill which we intend to bring forward during the current Parliament.

“We have made clear that we want all public sector buildings to have moved to clean heat by the end of 2038. We expect the public sector to demonstrate leadership in this area and I am therefore very pleased to be able to confirm these first awards from the Fund. Further awards will be confirmed shortly.”

The University of Edinburgh is set to receive £2.08m to support the reduction of heat demand at its King’s Buildings campus, including through fabric insulation and pipework insulation upgrades.

Catherine Martin, vice principal corporate services, University of Edinburgh said: “The climate crisis is one of the greatest challenges we are facing. The University of Edinburgh has a clear commitment to take positive action to address our impact on the climate and ultimately reach our institutional goal of being net zero by 2040. We need a coordinated approach to these activities and the funding from the Scottish Government will support our efforts to generate solutions and sustainably adapt the way we operate.”

Fife Council will receive £2.4 million for spend on St Andrew’s RC High School and Beacon Leisure Centre to install a combination of air-to-water heat pumps and water source heat pumps as the primary heat source for both.

Meanwhile, North Lanarkshire Council will get £2.3 million for a whole building retrofit, redesign and extension of Strathclyde Park Watersports Centre, as part of a redevelopment to turn it into a Net Zero Health Hub.