Agenda reports pack
Argyll and Bute Council · 7 September 2023
Back to Argyll and Bute Windfarm and Renewables Trust — 7 September 2023 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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Argyll and Bute Council Comhairle Earra-Ghàidheal Agus Bhòid Executive Director: Douglas Hendry Kilmory, Lochgilphead, PA31 8RT Tel: 01546 602127 Fax: 01546 604435 DX 599700 LOCHGILPHEAD 30 August 2023 NOTICE OF MEETING The Annual General Meeting of the ARGYLL AND BUTE WINDFARM AND RENEWABLES TRUST will be held BY MICROSOFT TEAMS on THURSDAY, 7 SEPTEMBER 2023 at 7:00 PM, which you are requested to attend. Douglas Hendry Executive Director BUSINESS 1. APOLOGIES 2. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST 3. MINUTE OF PREVIOUS ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING, HELD ON 22 SEPTEMBER 2022 (Pages 3 - 6) 4. EAST KINTYRE WINDFARM TRUSTEES (Pages 7 - 14) 5. WEST KINTYRE WINDFARM TRUSTEES (Pages 15 - 24) 6. INVERARAY WINDFARM TRUSTEES (Pages 25 - 28) 7. ALIENERGY (Pages 29 - 30) 8. SSE RENEWABLES UPDATE 2022/23 - TO FOLLOW 9. ANY OTHER COMPETENT BUSINESS Argyll and Bute Windfarm and Renewables Trust Councillor Jan Brown Councillor Dougie McFadzean Shona Barton, Governance Manager Contact: Lynsey Innis, Senior Committee Assistant, Tel: 01546 604338 Public Document Pack
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MINUTES of MEETING of ARGYLL AND BUTE WINDFARM AND RENEWABLES TRUST held BY MICROSOFT TEAMS on THURSDAY, 22 SEPTEMBER 2022 Present: Councillor Jan Brown (Chair) Councillor Dougie McFadzean Alastair Bennett, East Kintyre Windfarm Trust Margaret Pratt, West Kintyre Windfarm Trust Attending: Shona Barton, Committee Manager Audrey Martin, Projects and Regeneration Manager Dr Lynda Mitchell, ALIenergy Siobhan Jarvie, ScottishPower Renewables 1. APOLOGIES The Committee Manager welcomed everyone to the meeting and general introductions were made. Apologies for absence were intimated on behalf of:- Craig Mullen, Community Investment Manager, SSE Renewables 2. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST There were no declarations of interest intimated. 3. MINUTE OF PREVIOUS ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING, HELD ON 9 SEPTEMBER 2021 The Minute of the previous Annual General Meeting of the Argyll and Bute Windfarm and Renewables Trust held on 9 September 2022, was approved as a correct record. 4. APPOINTMENT OF CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR OF THE ARGYLL AND BUTE WINDFARM AND RENEWABLES TRUST Having recognised that the previous Chair, Councillor Anne Horn had stepped down as a Councillor in May 2022, the Trust gave consideration to a report which outlined the recent appointments made by the Council to the Windfarm Trust and invited Members to appoint both a Chair and a Vice Chair. Councillor Brown confirmed that she was happy to assume the role of Chair. Margaret Pratt confirmed that she was happy to assume the role of Vice Chair. With no one being otherwise minded this became the decision of the Trust. Decision Page 3 Agenda Item 3
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The Argyll and Bute Windfarm and Renewables Trust: 1. Appointed Councillor Jan Brown, as a member of the Argyll and Bute Windfarm and Renewables Trust, to carry out the role of Chair of the Trust; and 2. Appointed Margaret Pratt, as a member of the Argyll and Bute Windfarm and Renewables Trust, to carry out the role of Vice Chair of the Trust. (Reference: Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Legal and Regulatory Support, dated 22 September 2022, submitted) 5. EAST KINTYRE WINDFARM TRUSTEES The group gave consideration to the annual report and audited accounts of East Kintyre Windfarm Trust to the year ending 31 March 2022, having heard from Alastair Bennett. Decision The Argyll and Bute Windfarm and Renewables Trust agreed to note the detail provided. (Reference: Annual Report and Audited Accounts by East Kintyre Community Council Windfarm Trust, submitted) 6. WEST KINTYRE WINDFARM TRUSTEES The group gave consideration to the annual report and audited accounts of West Kintyre Windfarm Trust to the year ending 31 March 2022, having heard from Margaret Pratt. Discussion took place around the Council’s Shop Local, Love Local campaign, with the Projects and Regeneration Manager advising that she would provide the link to the Committee Manager for circulation around the Windfarm Trust. Decision The Argyll and Bute Windfarm and Renewables Trust agreed to note the detail provided. (Reference: Annual Report and Audited Accounts by West Kintyre Community Council Windfarm Trust, submitted) 7. INVERARAY WINDFARM TRUSTEES The group gave consideration to the annual report and audited accounts of Inveraray Windfarm Trust to the year ending 31 March 2022. Consideration was also given to the Community Action Plan. Decision The Argyll and Bute Windfarm and Renewables Trust agreed to note the detail provided. (Reference: Annual Report; Audited Accounts and Community Action Plan by Inveraray Community Council Windfarm Trust, submitted) Page 4
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8. ALIENERGY Consideration was given to a report by ALIenergy outlining the background of the sustainable energy charity, together with an overview of current projects and activities. Discussion was had in relation to the production of renewable energy in the Kintyre area, with members of the Trust expressing concern that this is not offset against the rising cost of energy. Alastair Bennett agreed to forward links to both Councillors Brown and McFadzean which would give detail on the work being undertaken around this, including information on the petition to the Scottish Government to seek a solution based on the output of renewable energy. Decision The Argyll and Bute Windfarm and Renewables Trust agreed to note the information provided. (Reference: Report by ALIenergy, submitted) 9. SSE RENEWABLES UPDATE 2021/22 In the absence of Craig Mullen, the Trust gave consideration to an update which highlighted the SSE Renewables Community Investment Review 2021/22. The review highlighted that SSE Renewables had donated over £9.6 million in community projects in Great Britain and Ireland in the last year. Decision The Argyll and Bute Windfarm and Renewables Trust agreed to note the information provided. (Reference: Update by SSE Renewables, submitted) 10. UPDATED WINDFARM TRUST CRITERIA At the previous Annual General Meeting of the Argyll and Bute Windfarm and Renewables Trust, it was agreed that the Committee Manager would take forward the updating of the Windfarm Trust Criteria, which was considered to be restrictive and outdated. Consideration was given to the proposed changes to the criteria. Decision The Argyll and Bute Windfarm and Renewables Trust agreed that the Windfarm Trust Criteria be updated as outlined and instructed the Committee Manager to forward to the Council’s Legal Services to ask them to update the Trust Deed. (Reference: Updated Windfarm Trust Criteria, submitted) 11. ANY OTHER COMPETENT BUSINESS Siobhan Jarvie of ScottishPower Renewables provided a brief update on local site activity within the area, including the progress of the Earraghail hybrid project and Sheirdrim development. Siobhan confirmed that ScottishPower Renewables had been successful Page 5
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in winning the rights to develop an off-shore windfarm off of the West Coast of Islay, and advised that this development would be known as Machair Wind. She further advised that ScottishPower Renewables have paid £2.7m in community benefit across the sites they have in Argyll to date. Page 6
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East Kintyre Windfarm Trust Annual Report 2023 East Kintyre Community Council (EKCC) currently consists of 5 elected members. These members, along with 3 independent trustees, make up East Kintyre Windfarm Trust. During the financial year ending 31 March 2023, EKWFT received £61,918 in grant pay- ments from Argyll & Bute Council in relation to Beinn an Tuirc 1 and 2 and Deucheran Hill Windfarms. A total of 13 applications for grant funding were received during the year with 12 being approved and 1 refused. Grants totalling £44,415 were agreed, although only £30,215 was paid out during this period. This remains less than half the pre-pandemic level and, while this may partly be due to clubs and groups only slowly becoming active again, the opening of the East Kintyre Community Fund has undoubtedly had an impact. This fund received 18 applications during the year and agreed grants of over £125,000. The decrease in grant payments compared with the previous year is also explained by a significant grant of £25,000 being included in the 2021/22 figures. This grant helped Car- radale Community Trust establish the Carradale Community Shop and Post Office, which now employs one full time manager and 2 part-time Post Office Assistants. A group of about 20 volunteers also help staff the checkout and stock the shelves. The shop is now recognised by HMRC as filling a primary CCT charitable purpose, meaning it is exempt from tax and can apply for grants to help with running costs. It has been a huge success and become the hub of the community, and is greatly appreciated by both residents and visitors who can now save themselves a 30 mile return journey to the shops in Campbel- town. Carradale Golf Club, which is registered as a Community Amateur Sports Club, received grants of £12,071 towards the purchase of replacement grass cutting equipment. This machinery is also available for the maintenance of a significant area of playing fields owned by the community council. Indeed, the maintenance of a network of tracks and paths in the Carradale area is a priority for the community. Walking and outdoor recre- ation were identified in the East Kintyre Local Development Plan (LDP) 2020/25 ( http:// eastkintyre.org/ldp.php) as priorities by both residents and visitors. To help with this, EKWFT sets an annual budget for the maintenance of paths and community areas and facilities. in the last year £3876 was paid out to local contractors to carry out these works. A grant was also made to The Kintyre Way to assist with the maintenance and promotion of the East Kintyre section of the route. A grant of £3,000 was made to Carradale Parent Council to help them develop an out- door learning space at Carradale Primary School. This will consist of an outdoor pod and polytunnel and will benefit the whole community through extra-curricular gardening clubs that will support the school vision of encouraging healthy eating. Village halls remain a priority for the community and grants totalling £8,412 were made to Carradale Village Hall for the purchase and installation of a new heating boiler and to- wards the annual insurance premium. Use of the hall is increasing again, including by a group for the elderly run by Shopper-Aide, which was given a grant of £800 towards their expenses. Page 7 Agenda Item 4
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Heritage is seen as a key element in providing a sustainable, resilient and connected fu- ture for East Kintyre in it’s LDP. To assist with this, grants were made to Carradale Com- munity Trust for the purchase of a display cabinet for the Heritage Centre at the Network Centre and to Saddell Abbey Trust for the installation of new posts and chains around the car park at Saddell Abbey. EKWFT will continue to support larger projects such as the Community Shop and Post Office, which are more likely to deliver long term benefits to the community, in line with the East Kintyre LDP. To assist in this regard, a development fund was established in 2016 and currently has a balance of £65,360. Each year, 10% of all community benefit funds received are transferred into a retention fund (2 bank term deposit accounts) for use by future generations. At 31 March 2023 it had a balance of £76,282. Wherever possible, trustees look for evidence of match funding from applicants, although a degree of flexibility is often necessary as it becomes increasingly difficult for them to obtain such funding. NOTE - This report should be read in conjunction with the attached audited accounts. Alasdair Bennett Secretary & Treasurer East Kintyre Windfarm Trust 1 August 2023 Page 8
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Hannah Fawcett
Licensed Accountant
Mr Alasdhair Bennett
East Kintyre Wind Farm Trust
Brudhearg
Carradale
By Campbeltown
Argyll
PA28 6qX
23'd May 2023
Dear Alasdhair
Please find attached signed independent examiners review certificate and accounts for East Kintyre
Wind Farm Trust for year end 31 March ZO23.l can confirm that no matter has come to my attention
in the course of my examination.
I have also attached a copy of my fee note for the service this year
Kind Regards
f+m.^.{ilefi-_^
Hannah Fawcett FMAAT
AAT Licenced Accountant
Rockbank, Low Askomil, Campbeltown, Argyll, pA28 6Ep
Tel:07858 O22374
Email : hfawcettFMAAT@gmail.com
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lndependent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of
East Kintyre Windfarm Trust
for the year ended 31 March 2023
I report on the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2023, which are set
out on pages 1- to 3.
Respective responsibilities of Trustees and Examiner
East Kintyre Windfarm Trust are responsible for the preparation of the accounts and to state whether
particular matters have come to my attention.
Basis of statement
My examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the Trust and a comparison of
the accounts presented with those records. lt also includes consideration of any unusual items or
disclosures in the accounts and seeks explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters.
The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and
consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the accounts.
lndependent Examiner's Statement
ln the course of my examination no matter has come to my attention
Signed:
tm^*.{r-W-
Hannah Fawcett FMAAT
Rockbank
Low Askomil
Campbeltown
PA28 6EP
Date: 23 May 2023
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Balance at 1 April
2021-2022
243391.73
2022-2023
221612.28
Grant lncome 28069.46 64987.24 1
Bank lnterest 707.17 689.1 5 2
Sundry 458.3
Total lncome 272626.66 287288.67
Grants Paid 46765.78 30215.85
General Maintenance 3221.52 3876.63 4
Miscellaneous 1027.08 712.76 5
Total Payments 51014.38 34805.24
Balance at 31 March 221612.28 252483.43
Balance Sheet
Bank of Scotland (CurrentAccount) 86533.71 110839.81 6
Development Fund (Virgin Money Dep. Acc.) 62119 65360.83
10% Retention Fund (Virgin MoneyTerm Deposits) 72959.57 76282.79 7
Total 252483.43221612.28
I certify that the above correctly identif ies the f inancial transactions for the year ended 31 March 2023 and the financial position at that date.
Auditor ConvEnor Secretary/Treasurer
Signature:
Name
ft&.Intrftrr fut".lr.err
I Brodie A Bennett
Date
231 5 | rors
15 May 2023 15 May 2023
1
East Kintyre Community Council Windfarm Trust - Receipts & Payments Accounts to 31 March 2023
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3068.90 Paid by SSE into Deposit AccountTangy 2
30576.1 3 Paid by A&BC into current accountBienn an Tuirc 2
Paid by A&BC into current accountBeinn an Tuirc 1
10655.19 Paid by A&BC into current accountDeucheran Hill
64987.24
Notel -Grantlncome
Note2-Banklnterest
Note3-GrantsPaid
Note 4 - General Maintenance
172.93 See enclosed Statement of Credit lnterest PaidVirgin Money Deposit Acc. No. 4001 1275
151 .34 See enclosed Statement of Credit lnterest PaidVirgin Money 2 Yr Term Deposit Acc No 201 15765
364.88 See enclosed Statement of Credit lnterest PaidVirgin Money 2 Yr Term Deposit Acc No 40599519
689.15
800.00BACS Shopper-Aide Ltd Club for older people in Carradale467
9000.00BACS Canadale Golf Club Replacement Gator and Mower471
3071.10BACS Carradale Golf Club Replacement Gator and Mower (second payment)471
1468.20BACS Carradale Community Trust Display Cabinet for Heritage Centre463
1685.00461 BACS The Kintyre Way Maintenance and marketing of Kintyre Way
s00.00470 BACS CHEL Timing system for the Carradale Canter
6412.78Replacement Central Heating Boiler468 BACS Carradale Village Hall
1 600.00New posts and rails for Abbey car park457 BACS Saddell Abbey Trust
578.77CCT (Dr J Lee) Community Open Day at Village Hall474 BACS
100.00Carradale Village Hall Hire of Carradale Village Hall for Open Day474 BACS
3000.00BACS Carradale Primary School Parents Co. School outdoor project475(a)
2000.00476 BACS Carradale Village Hall Village Hall lnsurance Premium
30215.85
135.95BACS SSE Hydro Electricity - Well Park Pavilion
732.12Repairs to Well Park fencingBACS A W Gillies (Fencing)
180.00Paths cutting/maintenance MayBACS Carradale Garden Services
59.9910667 lan Buchanan Maintenance Flemembrance Gardens
180.00BACS Carradale Garden Services Paths cutting/maintenance June
180.00Paths cutting/maintenance JulyBACS Carradale Garden Services
150.00BACS MoK Cleaning Services Cleaning Saddell Abbey glass over summer months
124.68BACS J Semple Well Park Mower Repairs
187.67BACS SSE Hydro Electricity - Well Park Pavilion
180.00BACS Paths cutting/maintenance OctoberCarradale Garden Services
400.00BACS Robert Strang Grass cutting Play Park
875.00BACS Donald McAllister Grass cutting Well Park
330.00BACS Johnny Durnan Grass cutting Network Centre
BACS 161.22SSE Hydro Electricity - Well Park Pavilion
3876.63
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Note 5 - Miscellaneous Note 6 - Contingent Liabilities Note 7 - 10% Retention Fund BACS 120Hannah Fawcett Auditor's fee annual accounts BACS Rhona Elder Community website costs 146.85 BACS Wyvex Media Placement of public notice in The Courier 120.79 1 0669 Alasdair Bennett 187.O7Annual subscription for Zoom Pro community account BACS Wyvex Media 138.05Placement of public notice in The Courier 712.76 886,533.71 Carradale Primary School Parents Co. Transport costs for extracurricular school activities 1500.00 Kintyre Songwriter's Festival 2023 Festival in Campbeltown (pro-rata contribution) 750.00 Kilbrannan Sound Affordable entertainment for East Kintyre residents 4500.00 The Kintyre Way Maintenance, promotion and administration costs KW 1728.OO Live Argyll New gym equipment for Aqualibrium, Campbeltown 1500.00 9978.00 Term Deposit No. 1 1 0% of total grant income fot 2021 122 (€2807) transferred by BACS from current account to Virgin Money 2 Year Term Deposit Account No. 4049951 I (lncludes e364.88 interest) 45862.93. Virgin Money 2 Year Term DepositAccount No. 20115765 will be renewed in March 2024when interest accumulated will be added. (lncludes t151 .34 interest) 30419.86 76282.79 3 09,q5ir2 ,1q..fi..9.,,,4 17;14:22 1 1,03;23 Tolaf ffiffi 475(c) 469 o 1::::.:::: ffiffi i#ilt *&.w , un.9.li Term Deposit No.2 Page 13
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Page 15 Agenda Item 5
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Report for The Argyll and Bute Windfarm Trust By Inveraray Community Council For meeting on 7th September 2023 Following on from last year’s report, to confirm the Clachan Farms (Inveraray) Windfarm Trust have awarded the following grant: 2023 Inspire Inverary Awarded £500 Inspire Inveraray applied for an award for the local Parent and Toddler’s group for insurance and running costs for the toddlers group, to prevent the club having to close down. Inveraray Pipe Band Awarded £1500 For the costs towards travel for the band to and from events and competitions. The Pipe band are recovering from a loss of finances dues to the pandemic. Inveraray Highland Games Awarded £2000 For costs towards the hire of marquees and toilets for the Highland Games. Inveraray Golf Club Awarded £2000 For costs towards the maintenance and improvement of the golf course and its facilities such as sand bunkers, greens and clubhouse toilets which are maintained by volunteers. British Region Awarded £750 For costs toward the Remembrance Parade which was held in Inveraray on the 17th of June to commemorate the service of men and woman in the British Armed Forces. Page 25 Agenda Item 6
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Please find attached: Accounts 2022-23 Alyssa Stewart Treasurer Inveraray Community Council Page 26
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ALIenergy Overview 2023 Argyll, Lomond and the Islands Energy Agency (ALIenergy) is a sustainable energy charity based in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. ALIenergy currently has a team of 16 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 – over the past year, funders have included Energy Redress Scheme, Robertson Trust, Argyll & Bute Council, Highland Council, Bank of Scotland, Smart Energy GB, Big Energy Saving Network, Scottish Federation of Housing Associations, Energy Action Scotland / William Grant Foundation, Scottish Government’s Investing in Communities Fund, Argyll & Bute Community Led Local Development Fund, SSE Renewables (Tangy), various donations. In response to the energy price crisis and the increasing number of households struggling to afford to adequately heat their homes, we have further expanded our affordable warmth activities. Our service offers a range of energy advice topics to raise awareness, increase resilience and reduce the risk of fuel poverty going forwards, alongside crisis interventions, referrals for insulation and heating replacement schemes, support with complex issues and dealing with energy companies and the ombudsman. We offer a mix of home visits, face-to-face advice at events and telephone sessions. 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 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 also receive a large number of direct enquiries. Our clients are typically vulnerable to fuel poverty for reasons such as low income, poor health/disability, and reliance on high-cost heating. Many have no access to gas, often using electric storage heaters on expensive electric tariffs. Many are self-restricting or in debt to suppliers. We have continued to access crisis payments for clients from various sources. These include: prepayment meter vouchers and bulk fuel deliveries from the Fuel Bank Foundation; energy debt relief and ongoing cost payments from the Scottish Government Home Heating Support Fund; free appliances (cookers fridges, freezers, washing machines) from the Glasspool Trust; and we are a partner in the Argyll & Bute Flexible Food Fund which provides cash interventions alongside money advice (from Bute Advice Centre) and energy advice from ourselves. We continue to prioritise urgent cases, and aim to provide rapid financial assistance and crisis interventions wherever needed – alongside providing the advice and referrals to address longer term resilience to fuel poverty. Among all the factors which make fuel poverty so serious here, particularly crucial is the lack of access to mains gas across much of the area. Electric heating can be 3-4 times as expensive per kWh than gas. We also have cold wet weather, energy inefficient housing, elderly demographics, and typically low average incomes. Detailed recent statistics are not yet available, but fuel poverty is now thought to affect over 50% (the majority) of households across northwest Scotland. Our advisors were overwhelmed with clients last winter and are likely to be again as soon as the weather cools down, after a slight easing in client numbers over the summer months. We endeavour Page 29 Agenda Item 7
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to offer advice and assistance to any individual who is struggling to pay their energy bills. In very busy periods, there may be waiting times and we aim to prioritise the most needful clients. 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 identifies, compares and analyses successful community energy initiatives to tackle fuel poverty in different countries, and creates a toolkit for replication. Through investigating different funding methods for tackling energy poverty, the project may also help us to diversify our own funding methods. We continue to promote and disseminate our good practice activities and achievements across the network and learn from others; and feed data into a formal evaluation exercise of partners’ good practices led by our academic partner, the University of Birmingham. 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 seek to install smart controls in 90-100 households with storage heaters in Oban and monitor the resulting improvements in energy bills and household comfort. This innovative project has recently restarted after a pause due to issues with the energy price crisis which delayed the roll out of smart meters and prevented people from switching suppliers. ALIenergy's Education and Skills Development Programme Funded by Scottish Power Renewables, Beinn an Tuirc Community Benefit Fund 'Regional Tranche'. This local economic development project encourages and facilitates young people to pursue local careers in STEM subjects and the renewable energy sector, providing events, workshops and careers advice in schools and communities, particularly in the areas of Mid Argyll and Kintyre. The project makes first contact with young people during their transition from P7 to S1, with activity stands at events followed by energy and climate change-related classroom workshops, and careers activities delivered in the three secondary schools in Campbeltown, Tarbert and Lochgilphead. In the summer, each year, the ALIenergy education officers also run stands for the whole community at the main Agricultural Shows in the area: Kintyre, Mid Argyll and Islay. In recent years, ALIenergy has created a series of three short films in 2021, 2022 and 2023 showcasing the diversity of careers opportunities in STEM related local businesses. The first, ‘STEM Journeys in Argyll’ showcased four STEM professionals working in the Argyll & Bute area, highlighting the range career paths open to young people as well as raising awareness of the opportunities for STEM roles in the area. The 2022 film ‘A Day in Industry 2022’ followed a selection of pupils’ work experience group placements organised by ALIenergy in local STEM-related workplaces. S4-6 applicants put into practice a range of employability skills in a bid to spend hands-on time in the workplace, finding out at first-hand what the company does and how STEM skills are integrated into the work of its staff. Building on these, ‘A Day in Industry 2023’ filmed 10 successful applicants from school years S4-6 in individual work experience placements with 7 local STEM employers: Ardern Yacht Centre, Argyll Pharmacy, DM Fabrications, Forestry and Land Scotland, Kintyre Gin, Midton Acrylics, Renewable Parts). These films can be seen at https://www.alienergy.org.uk/education- training-skills/ along with further information on all ALIenergy’s education-related activities. Going forward, education officers are now focussing on organising a major local careers event, MAKSTEMFest in early 2024. This follows preparatory work and planning carried out for a previous event which was due to take place in spring 2020, which sadly had to be cancelled at the last minute due to the pandemic. Education Officers are delighted and excited to now be returning to this. Page 30