ALIenergy Overview 2024/25
Argyll and Bute Council · 30 September 2025
Back to Argyll and Bute Windfarm and Renewables Trust — 30 September 2025 and its agenda
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ALIenergy Overview 2024/25 Argyll, Lomond and the Islands Energy Agency (ALIenergy) is a sustainable energy charity based in Oban. ALIenergy currently has a team of 18, working on a range of projects in Affordable Warmth/Alleviation of Fuel Poverty; Education and Skills Development; and Local Energy. ALIenergy’s aims are: - To help people with fuel poverty and energy efficiency issues - To encourage community renewables and local energy economy - To reduce carbon emissions and mitigate climate change. Affordable Warmth Advice Service ALIenergy has a long history of working to alleviate fuel poverty. In recent years, fuel poverty levels have increased significantly due to the energy price crisis. Our beneficiary households are vulnerable/disadvantaged for reasons such as low income, poor health, disability, unemployment, single parenting and old age. We assist those who cannot afford to heat their homes. They are often living in cold, damp rooms. They frequently must choose between eating and heating. Fuel poverty is associated with multiple deprivations: poor physical and mental health, loneliness and isolation, poor educational outcomes, low employability and debt, and ultimately, shockingly, loss of life through excess winter deaths, due to cold and damp living conditions. We provide intensive support to guide our most vulnerable households towards greater energy security, often working with each client over a period of several months, with multiple advice sessions. Our work consists of a combination of home visits, telephone advice calls and associated follow-up work. The value of client gain that we achieve, directly to the most vulnerable households in greatest need, is well over one million pounds per year. This is a combination of immediate crisis interventions and estimated cost savings going forward. We assist people directly and also take referrals from a range of other organisations including food banks, housing associations, citizens advice bureaux and health professionals. We assist with accessing available heating and insulation grants (in partnership with Home Energy Scotland), advise on energy saving behaviours; help understanding heating, appliances, bills, meters, suppliers and tariffs; assist with complaints and metering / billing issues; help people to access fuel vouchers, free white goods, debt relief and help with ongoing costs. We also deliver free training events, for frontline workers that support vulnerable or disadvantaged people, to help them to recognise and refer fuel-poor households. This is an
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extremely effective way for us to engage with hard-to-reach individuals who may otherwise be reluctant to ask for help for a variety of reasons. We are currently in a crisis of fuel poverty. The latest fuel poverty statistics from the Scottish House Condition Survey and Scottish Government (2023) show that whilst overall fuel poverty in Scotland is 34%, up from 31% in 2022, we see that for social tenants it is 61%; for prepayment customers it is 57%; for electric heating it is 52%. The majority of our clients are in these categories. There are reasons why fuel poverty levels are particularly high in our area: it is a mostly remote rural area with dispersed population and poor infrastructure. The area is mostly off the gas grid, so people are forced to use more expensive heating options. Electric heating can be up to 4 times as expensive as gas heating. We also have elderly demographics, low income, poorly insulated housing, and bad weather. The rising cost of food and energy prices has been catastrophic, with many people now unable to afford to use their heating. Problems are exacerbated by issues associated with slow smart meter rollout and around the end of the radio teleswitch signal, which controls the functionality of electric storage heaters in many homes. If this signal ends before homes have access to mitigating technology or alternative control system, it is likely to cause significant disruption to heating and may also have severe cost implications. Funders for our Affordable Warmth Service in Argyll and Bute during the year 2024-25 have included Energy Redress Scheme, Argyll & Bute Council, Robertson Trust, Bank of Scotland, Big Energy Saving Network, SGN Safe and Warm Fund, Smart Energy GB, Scottish Government’s Investing in Communities Fund, Drax Foundation, and SSE Renewables. Community Energy for Energy Solidarity (CEES), funded by Horizon 2020. Working with 10 partners from Portugal, France, Belgium, Croatia and UK, this 3-year European project identified, compared and analysed successful community energy initiatives to tackle fuel poverty in different countries, and created a toolkit for replication, the Energy Solidarity Toolkit, designed to assist the setup of new affordable warmth services across the UK and Europe. The project was completed in late 2024 and the project website contains a wealth of information, at www.energysolidarity.eu Consumer Comfort Choice (funded by Scottish Government CARES, and Centrica’s Energy for Tomorrow grant. Across much of rural Scotland, mains gas is unavailable, and many households use electric storage heaters, which can be difficult to control and expensive to run – contributing to the issue of fuel poverty. Charging may be controlled via smart control technology, providing greater comfort and control, less energy waste and reduced costs. Working with technical partner Connected Response, we are installing smart controls in households with storage heaters in Oban and monitoring the resulting improvements in energy bills and household comfort.
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ALIenergy's Education and Skills Development Programme ALIenergy’s Education Programme is funded by ScottishPower Renewables Beinn an Tuirc 2 windfarm Community Benefit Fund 'Regional Tranche' in Mid Argyll and Kintyre, and Drax Foundation in the rest of Argyll and Bute from September 2024. This project encourages and facilitates young people to seek careers in STEM subjects and the renewable energy sector, providing classroom workshops and careers events. The programme focusses on ages P7-S2. This is the period leading up to subject choices when pupils choose STEM subjects at school - or drop them altogether. This is the window of opportunity to instil excitement and enthusiasm in STEM subjects, to nurture ambitions and raise awareness of multiple opportunities. Each cohort of pupils is provided with a programme of STEM-related activities and events designed to follow through, from P7 primary school-leavers, through transition to secondary schools, through S1 and leading up to subject choices in S2. The programme covers STEM subjects generally alongside a focus on energy efficiency, renewable and sustainable energy, and climate change. P7/Transition: Towards the end of P7, pupils are provided with a colourful and dynamic STEM workbook full of fun-packed activities and information. Then, ALIenergy education officers provide activity stands at transition events and summer community events, where young people can interact with our officers, try some fun hands-on STEM related activities, learn, and be inspired. S1: ALIenergy education officers visit secondary schools to provide practical classroom workshops designed to widen perspectives around STEM subjects with a focus on energy efficiency, renewables and sustainable energy. This year we have upgraded our equipment to provide new hands-on renewable energy technology demonstration kits and have developed new teaching materials to highlight some of the challenges around the different methods of renewable energy generation. S2: ALIenergy organises a major STEMFEST careers event specifically targeting S2s, designed to assist with subject choices and to inspire the next generation of STEM employees. Pupils meet with a wide variety of local companies whose operations need employees with STEM skills, qualifications and training. The day is designed around a mini-conference approach with workshops and marketplace - giving young delegates the chance to meet employers and find out first-hand about different learning and career paths that lead to green skills and jobs in the renewable sector. Through this type of engagement STEM related companies can reach out to young people, as part of the process of addressing future skills requirements in these important areas. In addition, ALIenergy attends and contributes to a variety of other careers events organised by schools and others.
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Other Activities SAMS PV – Funded by Scottish Government CARES – installing new locally owned renewable energy generation SAMS PV is a partnership project between ALIenergy and our neighbours the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS). The original plan for a large PV array on the main south facing SAMS roof was unfortunately ruled out due to grid constraints – a significant barrier to locally owned renewable energy developments in our area. However the project was amended to install a smaller array on the roof of the Ocean Explorer Centre and this was installed in February 2025. Shared Ownership of Commercial Renewable Energy Developments Distinct from the better-known community benefit schemes which typically donate to local community initiatives, shared ownership is a significant commercial undertaking - but with potential to reap significant rewards. Our local economies could benefit enormously from ownership of revenues arising from renewable energy generation. Furthermore, it feels right that revenues generated from energy-related developments should help to alleviate local energy-related problems such as fuel poverty, and help support energy-related local economic development. ALIenergy is ideally placed to explore and take forward shared ownership opportunities in collaboration with its local communities. During 2024 we held a series of public meetings in Oban, co- hosted by ALIenergy and the Resource Collective, which returned unanimous support for the exploration of future opportunities regarding community shared ownership of various potential new developments around the Oban area. We are grateful to Local Energy Scotland for providing ongoing support and invaluable information on the topic of shared ownership as an emerging framework that offers communities the opportunity to become shareholders in renewable projects, and for providing CARES funding for legal advice on potential legal structures. Re_Store – New Venture with Local Charity Partners A new charity shop (Re Store) in Oban is a partnership led by Hope Kitchen with ALIenergy, Oban Youth Café, Lorn & Oban Healthy Options and Atlantis Leisure, opened as a social enterprise to serve the community whilst also creating revenue. The shop sells second hand and repurposed goods as well as redistributing surplus food. It also has a workshop space for a variety of classes and events including arts, crafts, sewing and mending, including making blankets and draught excluders to give out to those in need, and hosting drop-in advice sessions. The shop opened in spring 2024, and has now been successfully trading for over a year. In November 2024, the venture won an Innovation Award at the ScottishPower Foundation Awards. This year, it has been shortlisted for the Social Enterprise Awards 2025 which will take place in November.