Loganair has launched a new £30,000 community grant scheme, dedicated to supporting local renewable energy projects across Scotland.
The Greenskies Community Fund will be released in three instalments of £10,000 with applicants able to access a maximum grant of £5,000 per project.
The initiative aims to help establish renewable energy projects such as small-scale wind systems, solar panels, small-scale hydro power and air source heat pumps. It is not available for funding research or feasibility studies.
The fund is the latest stage of Loganair’s Greenskies environmental programme, launched in July as part of its commitment to become fully carbon neutral by 2040.
The programme includes the introduction of a mandatory £1 carbon offsetting charge levied on all flights, with the money invested in accredited offsetting schemes.
Loganair has already purchased credits from the Albano Machado and Rio dos Índios projects. Based in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, both are small scale hydro plants which displace fossil fuel energy production in the national grid.
Additionally, Loganair purchased credits from the Tambopata-Bahuaja biodiversity reserve in Peru, a scheme which is locally run and intended to protect and preserve the rainforest and its biodiversity. The scheme works by helping local farmers transition to high value cocoa production on the fringes of the rainforest, creating an economic and environmental buffer zone and halting deforestation in this area.
Jonathan Hinkles, chief executive at Loganair, said: “The transport industry as a whole has a duty to address and reduce emissions from every form of travel, and it’s our responsibility as the UK’s largest regional airline to lead the way.
“Our Greenskies Community Fund will support local renewables projects that not only tackle carbon emissions but also benefit communities by providing power that reduces energy bills.”
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