Record £200,000 awarded to Aberdeen Communities for Climate-Smart Projects
- Latest round of awards from the Vattenfall’s ‘Unlock Our Future Fund’ totals £200,000, the biggest round of funding to date.
- In the six years since the fund opened, 86 awards totalling a huge £816,000 have been made to community projects in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire.
- Funding supports initiatives like improving insulation and glazing, installing solar panels, battery storage, low carbon heating systems and upgrading to energy efficient equipment in community facilities.
The latest round of funding from the Vattenfall Unlock Our Future Fund has awarded grants to 20 community organisations to improve their facilities and projects through creative and sustainable solutions.
The grants have covered everything from funding an electric van to deliver fruit and vegetables, restoring local community spaces, to helping a rugby club cover the cost of new heaters to keep their facilities warm and save energy.
Since the fund started in 2019, administered by Foundation Scotland, it has promoted community development across the region. With an annual contribution from Vattenfall’s offshore wind farm in Aberdeen, the fund enables local people to benefit directly from nearby offshore wind infrastructure.
An event in Inverurie celebrated the groups and projects taking positive action by providing valuable local services and reducing their carbon footprint.
Claus Wattendrup, UK Country Head for Vattenfall, said:
“We are proud to support these innovative projects that not only improve local facilities, but contribute to a more sustainable future. The Unlock Our Future Fund is a demonstration of how clean energy projects not only reduce carbon emissions but benefit the wider community they operate in.”
Examples of projects awarded:
- Aberdeen Performing Arts: Funding to upgrade the Building Management System at His Majesty’s Theatre, allowing better control of energy usage and saving a considerable amount of money in utilities.
- Turriff United and Hall Russell United Junior FC: Grants for LED floodlights.
- Gairn Community Garden and Ellon Community Allotments: Funding to develop food growing sites.
- Community Food Initiatives North East: Funding for an electric van to deliver fruit and veg.
- Seed Box: Award to help with the purchase of a small electric vehicle to collect garden waste for a community composting scheme.
The Vattenfall ‘Unlock Our Future Fund’ will continue to link offshore wind power to local communities and organisations, and will reopen in 2025. Find more information on future funding opportunities here.
See also
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