Highland Energy Community Partnership

Who we are

The Highland Energy Community Partnership (HECP) project seeks to overcome obstacles to home decarbonisation and fuel poverty alleviation in the remote Scottish Highlands. Implemented by community partners, HECP empowers local communities in the Highland region to adopt energy efficiency measures and address climate change. Co-ordinated by Changeworks, this innovative partnership project has been facilitated by funding from the National Lottery Community Fund.

HECP’s primary initiatives encompass promoting environmentally responsible energy usage, assisting communities in retrofitting their dwellings, and sharing knowledge that supports rural retrofit activities beyond the project’s scope.

The Partners

The community partners responsible for delivering the activities within their respective areas are: Coigach Community Development Company, Lochbroom and Ullapool Community Trust, Gairloch and Loch Ewe Action Forum, The Garve and District Development Company, Contin, Jamestown and Tarvie Projects, and Transition Black Isle. The Highland Council (HC), University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI), and Home Energy Scotland are providing support to our community group partners in delivering the HECP project.

Aims & Objectives of the Project

1.Promoting environmentally friendly energy use

Individuals will acquire knowledge and skills in energy conservation and home retrofitting, enabling them to adopt environmentally responsible energy usage practices. Community-based energy officers will facilitate this objective through personalised and group awareness and guidance sessions, leveraging existing community networks and events. Over a five-year period, participants will engage with the project through websites, newsletters, social media platforms, and group gatherings, while receiving personalised energy advice. This engagement will result in a heightened understanding of effective energy usage and a corresponding decrease in carbon emissions as a consequence of behavioural changes.

2. Supporting communities to retrofit their homes

Over the course of the next five years, households will be empowered and supported to undertake home retrofits. The project will assist in identifying energy-efficient retrofit measures suitable for their specific homes and provide them with a comprehensive home retrofit plan. Subsequently, households will receive guidance and assistance in navigating and applying for grants and funding schemes to finance their retrofit projects. Additionally, they will receive support to identify and remove any obstacles that may hinder the commencement and completion of their retrofit work. Furthermore, households will receive ongoing support from installer liaison throughout the retrofit process, ensuring seamless collaboration and coordination. Community partners will also endeavour to establish coordinated area-based approaches to retrofit work. The ultimate objective of these approaches is to achieve economies of scale, thereby benefiting householders, installers, and staff involved in the project.

3. Sharing learning that supports rural retrofit activity beyond project area

In collaboration with the partnership, UHI and HC will establish connections across rural communities in Scotland to facilitate the scaling up of retrofitting initiatives in rural areas. The project will leverage existing networks and connections to share strategies for generating and demonstrating the demand for local installers, as well as providing support to householders, particularly those most susceptible to the adverse effects of poorly energy-efficient homes, throughout the entire retrofitting process.