Eco-energy grants go through the roof

Published on Saturday 15 December 2007 19:22

IT COULD be just the eye-watering expense of electricity but it may be that Scotland's house-owners are embracing a greener way of life.

The take-up of grants for home-based renewable energy devices that will cut bills and help to prevent damaging climate change have soared by 1,000% during the past four years.

According to a survey by the Energy Saving Trust (EST), householders north of the Border have invested more than 18.8m in renewable technologies since 2003, with the figure rising every month.

That translates to 2,300 grants, funded by the Scottish Government, to homeowners installing devices such as solar panels to produce hot water, ground-source heat pumps, wood-burning biomass boilers, or wind turbines.

Grants awarded have rocketed from just 85 in the period April 1, 2003, when the scheme began, to March 31, 2004, to 894 from April 1, 2006, to March 31, 2007, a rise of more than 1,000%.

Since April 1, the Scottish Community and Householder Renewables Initiative has awarded 751 grants to energy-efficient Scots. The EST, which administers the scheme, says it is confident it will break its 2006-7 figure by the end of March.

The grants are for 30% of the costs of installing any renewable technology around the home. Grants are capped at 4,000 and limited to two per household.

Scottish Renewables manager Chris Morris said: "The rate of growth has been impressive and we suspect greater than in the rest of the UK. Scots homeowners really want to take positive action to tackle climate change."