EST state  that  if anyone  wishes  to join the waiting list it is important to note that no work should be carried out prior to receiving a formal written offer of grant in order to satisfy the grant scheme terms and conditions.

Applications received before this deadline will be processed on a first come first served basis until grant funding is fully allocated.

Completed applications must be submitted in hard copy to:

Services Delivery Team
Energy Saving Trust
2nd Floor, Ocean Point 1
94 Ocean Drive
Edinburgh, EH6 6JH

Faxed or emailed application forms will not be accepted.

Anyone living in the Dunbar & East Linton ward can still receive a BeGreen home renewables grant i.e. 20 % of eligible costs up to £1,2000. To find out more contact the BeGreen project 01368-863720 or begreendunbar@btconnect.com

Currently there is uncertainty regarding the level of the proposed Renewable Heat Incentive and how/whether this will affect the  availability of grants towards capital costs for community projects. This means that the economic assessment of schemes is very difficult at present. Hopefully this will be resolved soon but even then, please bear in mind that this toolkit is very much to provide an initial assessment of whether it would be worthwhile to commission a full feasibility study for installing a biomass fired district heating scheme in your particular situation.

On 20th April, the Scottish Government announced that £2 million would be available for a boiler scrappage scheme for Scotland.

The Scottish Boiler Scrappage Scheme will provide up to 5,000 households in Scotland with working “G-rated” boilers with a voucher worth £400 off the price of a new, modern Energy Saving Trust (EST) Recommended boiler.

The scheme will open for applications on Monday 24th May 2010.

How to apply

If you would like to apply you should:

Please note, if you proceed with your installation before you receive your voucher, you will invalidate your claim and you will no longer be eligible for the £400 rebate.

What is the purpose of the Boiler Scrappage Scheme?

Scotland has one of the most ambitious CO₂ emission reduction targets in the world. The installation of an efficient heating system is an effective way of reducing household energy bills and CO₂ emissions, as domestic heating and hot water accounts for around 16 per cent of Scotland’s CO₂ emissions.

To address this, the Scottish Government is offering up to 5,000 households £400 towards the cost of upgrading their boiler to a high efficiency EST Recommended one.

This will help to save around 5,100 tonnes CO₂ per year – equivalent to taking 1,700 cars off the road.

What are the benefits in upgrading your boiler?

New boilers have rated efficiencies of 90 per cent or more meaning that they use less fuel, resulting in lower CO₂ emissions and running costs.

For example, this means by upgrading your G-rated boiler to an EST Recommended one, your household heating bill should drop by about a quarter – a saving of around £235 a year for a 3 bed semi-detached house.

Next steps

Please revisit EST’s  web page when the scheme opens for applications on Monday 24th May 2010

A leaflet detailing the grant initiative will be sent out via the grammar, primary and nursery schools later this week and will be posted in key community buildings as well as the BeGreen shop.

The grant couldn’t be easier to access. To qualify you have to live in the Dunbar and East Linton Ward Area with a child under 16 and be in receipt of any one of a range of benefits, such as Income Support or Working/Child Tax Credit (with an income of less than £17,400).

Paul McClennan stated, ‘This project can provide measures such as loft insulation, draught proofing of doors and windows, boiler upgrades and even new white goods, I would urge everyone who thinks they might qualify to get in touch with BeGreen.’

“All you need to do, is contact BeGreen, says Norman Hampshire. They will send one of their energy auditors to carry out a free home energy audit on your home. The auditor will, advise you how to make your home more energy efficient and you may be eligible for BeGreen energy efficiency grant“.

Sheila Kerr  BeGreen’s Project Administrator  said, ‘Many people are struggling to keep warm and pay rising fuel bills, these simple grants could make a big difference to families with kids in the area, so please get in touch and we can take things forward.’

Mr Smith who received a £500 grant from the BeGreen project towards updating his old central heating system explained how the grant helped him. “The new efficient heating has made the house warmer in all the rooms of our house. Previously there were cold spots! The new boiler is quieter, more flexible and responds quickly, previously we had to wait an hour for hot water.” The staff were friendly and helpful in offering advice and information. “ .

Even if you are unsure whether you are eligible for a grant through this project, or if you are on a higher income and don’t receive any benefits, you should still get in touch as there is a wide range of assistance available to help make your home warmer and cut your fuel use. BeGreen is there to help you access this support.’

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The five Dragons representing Community Windpower Ltd (BeGreen’s funders), British Energy, Lafarge, Sustaining Dunbar and Dunbar Grammar School were blown away by the quality of the presentations. Nigel Blair manager of Lafarge said “The students have shown great enthusiasm for the competition and the standard of the pitches to the Dragon’s was excellent. It was very difficult to make a decision and all of the students should be very proud of the work that they have completed”.

Project funding totalling £12,500 was split between three projects. £5,000 went to the Lauderdale team which will enable them to deliver their starter packs through the grammar and primary schools and £7,500 will be shared by the Cromwell and Castle teams who share similar project ideas. Both teams will  work together to develop their community farm / allotment project at the school .Winterfield and Victoria teams each won fifty house points for best presentation and best researched projects respectively. A further £2,500 will be used as prize monies for the winning teams.

“Philip Revell of Sustaining Dunbar was similarly impressed with the students’ enthusiasm, the quality of the pitches and their ability to think on their feet to answer questions and stated that “Sustaining Dunbar will look forward to assisting the winning teams to work up their project plans and make them a reality”.

Head teacher of Dunbar Grammar School Paul Raffaelli announced “I was immensely proud of my pupils and felt that I could ask the teams anything about their projects as did the other Dragons.  This made the experience very real for me and the young people.  This was a very good example of the ‘Curriculum for Excellence’ in action”.

Ray Ball, Finance Director of Community Windpower Ltd echoed Mr Raffaelli’s comments. “I was extremely impressed by the pupils.  They were all very confident in their respective projects and the quality of the presentations and detail provided made the Dragon’s job of choosing the best scheme extremely difficult.  There are some budding entrepreneurs within Dunbar Grammar School. It was a pleasure to be involved.  Good luck to the teams with their project delivery .It would be good to come back in the future to see how the projects worked”.

Paul Winkle, Station Director at Torness Power Station said: “The competition was a fantastic opportunity to teach young children how different forms of energy are sourced and generated, and it encourages them to look at the environment in which they live, in a different way.   The children were extremely enthusiastic and I hope they can encourage the community reduce its carbon footprint. I am delighted to have been part of the competition.”

Isobel will be  continuing with her composting workshop clinics  in the BeGreen shop on Thursday afternoon for the next two weeks,   to answer any  of your composting questions and to  help you to produce lovely sweet smelling compost for all those vegetables you will be growing.

• Thursday afternoons, 2.30-3.30pm  10th - 17th  September.
• Special  evening Workshop, Thursday  8 October  7.30 pm – 9.00pm.

Free, phone the BeGreen shop, 01368 863720 to book your place.

• PV Paybacks

With feed-in tarrifs coming into effect next spring you will be paid about 35p per unit of electricity that you generate. On top of this you will gain about 12p per unit for every unit that you use yourself (because you won’t have to buy it from your electricity supplier), plus you will be paid about 5p per unit that you export to the grid. On top of this, at present, you can still get a grant for installation, which covers up to 30% of the costs up to £4000 so, for the next six months or so you will win both ways and the the pay-back time will reduce to about seven years. Recent research has also shown that PV’s have a longer useful life than previously assumed -30yrs plus.

Installation of photovoltaics is now a ‘permitted development’, so you don’t need planning permission, unless you live in a conservation area. If you do live in a conservation area, don’t let this put you off applying -you don’t have to pay a fee and permission may well be granted.
For advice and assistance just contact the BeGreen shop 01368 863720 or email begreendunbar@btconnect.com