A plan for a low-carbon heat network that will fight fuel poverty among residents on the tiny island of Iona has been awarded £50,000.
The funding boost for the community-owned Iona Heat Network comes as it has been unveiled as winner of the Social Innovation Challenge 2022 delivered by enterprise agency Firstport.
With all the island’s energy imported and reliant on expensive, single-use electricity tariffs, oil and coal, heating costs have always been exceptionally high, even before the recent increases caused by the war in Ukraine and other global factors.
What is ground source heat?
Ground source heating is not a new technology. It works by extracting heat from the ground and pumping water through it in pipes.
Using an existing technology in the form of a ground source heat network will allow the residents of Iona to move away from a reliance on fossil fuels
Having identified a ground source heat network as the only viable environmentally-friendly energy solution for the island’s particular needs, the community of Iona, with support from local and national stakeholders led the development of the energy heat network, which will be owned, operated and maintained by island residents.
Grant to lay the ground work
The £50,000 grant funding prize will be used to carry out essential technical work, as well as bring in expertise to move the project to a construction phase in 2023.
The Iona Heat Network, a project of community-led charity Iona Renewables and its wholly-owned subsidiary Iona Energy, has been in development for some years.
Long-term, the project hopes to offer a replicable model for other remote, vulnerable areas facing similar challenges.
Shiona Ruhemann from Iona Renewables said: “Having come all this way through sheer community commitment and determination, the island community is in sight of delivering a ‘bottom-up’ model for addressing the most intractable low-carbon problems on Iona and for other challenging rural settings.”
What is the Social Innovation Challenge?
The Social Innovation Challenge (SIC) delivered by social enterprise agency Firstport, funds and supports innovators.
The programme is centred around a different theme each year. Building on the legacy of COP26, the 2022 theme looked for solutions to climate change issues faced by rural communities in Scotland.
Firstport chief executive Gael Drummond added: “Huge congratulations to the Iona Renewables team and to the community of Iona on winning the Social Innovation Challenge 2022.
“When we opened applications in July, we were hoping to find examples of innovative solutions that addressed the challenge theme and were rooted in community need.
“The Iona Heat Network delivered on all fronts and we are delighted to be able to help get the project over the line.”