Local Energy Scotland

We manage CARES - the Scottish Government’s Community and Renewable Energy Scheme. CARES supports communities across Scotland to engage with, participate in and benefit from the energy transition to net zero emissions. Local Energy Scotland is a consortium made up of Energy Saving Trust, Changeworks, The Energy Agency, and SCARF. We manage CARES with support for delivery from Ricardo Energy and Environment and QMPF. CARES aims to put energy into the hands of local people by enabling locally owned renewable energy projects and offers a range of financial support. CARES also supports communities with community benefits and shared ownership opportunities. We can help you develop your local energy project by offering: • free, expert and impartial advice from our local development officers • free online toolkits and project guides to help you identify what might work for you • mobilisation support for capital projects – design review, costs and procurement support • ongoing support with project development and delivery • mentoring and community online discussion in our Facebook group. CARES was established to encourage local and community ownership of renewable energy across Scotland and to help maximise the benefits to communities of renewable energy systems - whether commercial or community-owned. CARES aims to accelerate progress towards the Scottish Government’s target of 2GW of locally owned energy by 2030 and the decarbonisation of heat in Scotland’s homes and buildings. It assists with delivering its strategy through the provision of loan finance, grant funding and specialist advice to communities, businesses and other organisations such as public sector bodies.