Liberal Democrats will put communities at the heart of Scotland’s green future

The Scottish Liberal Democrats have today committed to putting local communities at the heart of Scotland’s green future.

During a visit to the Aikengall Community Wind Farm in East Lothian, Christine Jardine, the party’s candidate for Edinburgh West, outlined the Liberal Democrats’ plans to support communities in developing and benefiting from renewables infrastructure near them.

The party would empower local authorities to develop local renewable electricity projects, like wind and solar farms, and harnessing facilities, including battery energy storage systems.

Liberal Democrats would also require large energy supplies to work directly with communities to sell the power they generate to local customers and ensure community benefit funds receive a fair share of the wealth generated by the renewables infrastructure in their area.

Christine Jardine said:

“Scotland’s renewable energy is incredible, but people living locally need to get the full benefit of these opportunities.

"At the moment, any contribution from developers to the community is voluntary. The wholesale price of electricity has soared but the benefits for the communities have not, with little of that windfall actually trickling down to those who have the downside of living near windfarms.

"Liberal Democrat proposals would see communities getting the financial help they need to bring down fuel bills for locals, build more affordable homes, fund things like local swimming pools, playgrounds and community halls.

“Our approach would put communities at the very heart of Scotland’s bright renewable energy future.”