Reacting to news today of £60m of new funding from the Green Investment Bank and the Strathclyde Pension Fund for community-scale renewable schemes across the UK, including the first scheme near Crianlarich, Dr Richard Dixon, Director of Friends of the Earth Scotland, said:

“Local clean energy production makes sense in so many ways. Well designed run of river hydro schemes can provide clean electricity to the grid and help reduce Scotland’s climate emissions.

“We welcome the Green Investment Bank’s move into helping fund community-scale renewables. We will be looking for this scheme to maximise the benefits to local communities.

“It is also great news that the Strathclyde Pension Fund is contributing to this investment. For too long pension funds have simply put their money into big fossil fuel firms, but here we have millions going into creating local jobs and green energy.

“Community power is a big success story in Scotland but we can do so much more. We are urging the Scottish Government to increase their current target for community and locally owned energy for 2020 and to set an even more ambitious target for 2030.”