Author: David Ross, The Herald

The island of Gigha is to play an important role in pioneering work to find a way to store power generated by wind turbines, which could revolutionise the global green energy industry.

The island is host to the first community-owned grid-connected wind farm in Scotland, the ‘Dancing Ladies’, which initially consisted of three turbines christened Faith, Hope and Charity. A fourth was added later, but its operation has had to be constrained.

The turbines are an important income stream for the Isle of Gigha Heritage Trust which led the headline community buyout of the island completed in 2002.

Now the turbines are to be connected to a “vanadium redox flow battery”, which is the size of a shipping container. It is a new piece of engineering which some hold could be a game-changer.

The likes of wind and solar power generators, have always had the problem of being intermittent energy sources. They often generate when the power is not needed on the grid, and have to be paid to shut down; or are inactive when the grid needs all the power it can get.

So the search has been on for a system which could store their power.

Energy can already be stored using technologies ranging from pumped hydro schemes to large-scale lithium-ion batteries.

But the UK government-funded trial on Gigha, will demonstrate that vanadium redox flow is now commercially viable, says Scott McGregor, chief executive of the device’s developer, the Jersey-registered ‘redT’ company.

He said “The technoloy has moved faster than anyone has expected and what you see today is a system that is a commodity product.”

The science is based on vanadium’s ability to hold different levels of electrical charge.

Hannah Smith, Policy Officer at industry body Scottish Renewables, said: ““Scotland’s islands have some of the most powerful renewable energy resources in Europe.

“What many of them lack is a strong connection to the national grid. Power produced there has to be consumed there as it simply has no route to a wider market.”

Energy storage technologies, such as batteries, presented an opportunity to use and export more of the green electricity generated, she said.

According to Community Energy Scotland: “This purpose designed and built battery could show the way for other rural comunities to harness the full potential of their renewable power.”

Author: DTAS

In its most recent membership survey, Development Trusts Association (DTA) Scotland, the member organisation for development trusts in Scotland, has found that communities (in the form of development trusts) directly contribute over £25million towards regeneration activity in Scotland.

The results come as development trusts, community groups and representatives gather for the 13th annual DTAS conference in at the Westerwood Hotel in Cumbernauld on the 4th and 5th of September.

Commenting ahead of the Conference, Ian Cooke, Director of DTA Scotland said:

“As the development trust movement in Scotland continues to grow and mature, more and more people are becoming aware of the contribution that these grassroots organisations can make towards their local economies and the Scottish Government’s place-making agenda.

“Perhaps less well known, is the amount of voluntary commitment it takes to make all this happen. As our survey shows, volunteer hours in this sector really do add up, and it is important to recognise the outstanding contribution which local people make to regeneration activity.

“What is even more remarkable, is that development trusts have community owned assets with an aggregated worth of £75.6million. In addition, many of our members report that they are currently involved in asset acquisition, or, in some cases, converting leases into asset ownership.

“With new community rights and funding, there has never been a better time for community-led regeneration, as more and more communities take control of their future through the acquisition and management of assets.”

Other notable headlines from the survey include:

•          750 employees

•          2,002 volunteer board members

•          Aggregated turnover of £46.8million, 42% of which is earned through trading and other income generation streams

•          £75.6million worth of assets, owned in a mix of housing, land, forestry, buildings, renewables and others

Minister for Local Government and Housing Kevin Stewart said:

“Community development trusts throughout Scotland are doing great work helping communities change and improve their own local areas. And these survey results underline the energy, commitment and wider contribution they are bringing to our communities.

“I would like to thank DTAS for giving these community organisations the confidence and support they need to carry out all the great work they are doing, helping to tackle inequalities and playing their part in creating a fairer Scotland.”

Entitled “Climate Change, Localism & Social Justice”, DTA Scotland’s Conference brought together Scotland’s experts on community-led responses to climate change and regeneration, along with the many development trusts and community bodies seeking to deliver innovative and sustainable change on the ground.

Once again a complete sell-out, the Conference provided an invaluable forum for the sharing of ideas, experience and good practice.

Author: Community Land Scotland

This eight step guide to community ownership of land has been produced by CLS

Author: Coalburn, Douglas and Glespin

This community led plan is an articulation of the views and aspirations of Coalburn and Douglas and was prepared with the support of Urban Animation.

Author: Yunis Centre, Glasgow Caledonian University

The lecturer this year will be Pauline Graham from Social Firms Scotland. The Yunus Centre for Social Business and Health at Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) would like to invite you to the 2016 John Pearce Memorial Lecture and an update on the Social Enterprise Collection (Scotland).

The lecture will consider perspectives on the social enterprise community in Scotland which has been built on the roots of community action and an inherent enthusiasm for entrepreneurship. It will also reflect on the development of social enterprise in Europe and how the ‘Scottish Model’ fits into the more international aspects of social enterprise. The lecture will also speculate on key challenges for social enterprise in Scotland and the need to frame the forthcoming 10 year Social Enterprise Strategy within a wider policy context.

This is a free event but please can you RSVP to ensure your place.

Author: CES/COMAS

Tower Power is an emerging community-led alternative to standard customer and supplier relationships in which mainstream power companies hold the power as well as supply the power, leaving vulnerable people the most powerless—in every sense. Tower Power aims to put the community in control with collective bargaining power to negotiate cheaper electricity for everyone, and equal tariffs for everyone, ending the inequalities of pre-paid meters and the utilities insecurity arising from costly electricity in poor households.

There are two strands to the approach: technical tools to gather household usage data and create options for local generation, and the community development approach of helping individuals switch to a new community-based method and empowering community members to lead a local Tower Power company.

Why Dumbiedykes 

Dumbiedykes is a small urban neighbourhood comprising high rise and low rise housing, in mixed ownership of social and private landlords, and owner-occupiers. It is also known as a deprived area, with 1 in 5 in the population on benefits and many “working poor”. In addition, students and new migrants use the area’s private rented accommodation, contributing to a diversity of languages and cultures in the area. All of these factors make it a great site for a demonstration project.

Tower Power is also a good place to demonstrate a solution blending the bulk-buying approach with on -site power generation, in this case by using the roof space for solar PV panels. 

The technical bit 

Bringing all of the household usage data into one collective block is called aggregating demand, done through Smart Metering—which can also be prepaid by the consumer. The Smart Meters measure  demand at half-hourly intervals and this data is useful to power suppliers—it helps them manage  demand, and deal with a ‘bulk’ customer more easily, bringing the price down. The lower price is then passed onto customers, retaining small amounts to cover the cost of the local services. Further cost savings will be achieved for customers by installation of solar PV which will be owned by the community. 

The scheme will be backed by City of Edinburgh Council renewing heating in the flats it owns in the high rise blocks. 

The social bit

The technical potential of the scheme is only one factor in its success. We all know the most vulnerable residents are least likely to switch for cheaper tariffs, and most likely to become overwhelmed by debt and money management problems. The community development aspects of the approach are important, proactively ensuring the community is involved and support is available at individual household level to sign up for cheaper electricity.

Over time, the community will form the Board of the company and gain the skills and experience to sustain the scheme. 

Who is involved

Community Energy Scotland is leading the scheme, after managing many successful community initiatives for power generation throughout Scotland. Comas is a community development agency tackling poverty, of which fuel poverty is an important dimension. In Dumbiedykes Tower Power will be backed by 20 More, a project aiming to make every household better off, so it is embedded in activity which is already tackling poverty in the area. The City of Edinburgh Council owns 50% of the housing in the area and is committed to achieving low carbon, fuel efficient homes. Synchronising the Council’s existing refurbishment programme with Tower Power is enhancing the benefits.

Glasgow City Council is contributing to the demonstration aspect of Tower Power by exploring with us how small-scale urban power generation can feed directly into local demand, informing how we can maximise benefit from the solar PV generation in Dumbiedykes. Technical suppliers are also collaborating with us on the project.

 The project process

The community will establish a Community Service Company to run and manage the project. The development and training for this company is an important part of the learning in Tower Power that we will share.

 The operational team for the installation and development work will be led by Community Energy Scotland and supported by Comas. During this stage, a Community Customer Service team will be established which will eventually be employed by the Community Service Company for long term management of the scheme. 

Alongside the company, two groups will oversee and learn from the project: an Advisory Group and an Incubator Network. The Advisory Group comprises of project stakeholders who are able to provide valuable input to the project and help to problem solve on issues that may arise. The Incubator Network will comprise a small number of community organisations looking to replicate the Tower Power model within their own areas.

Partners: City of Edinburgh Council, Glasgow City Council, Community Energy Scotland, Future Energy

Author: Young Foundation

A report released today by The Young Foundation finds that benches in our towns and cities, though easily overlooked, play a crucial role in social life. The report argues that benches are currently being removed from public spaces; damaging community life and social integration.

The report, Benches for everyone: solitude in public, sociability for free finds that benches foster inclusion and help diverse communities to interact. Benches provide a free place for different individuals or large groups to meet, a space for people to pause and feel a sense of belonging, and also serve as a necessary resting place for older people.

However, increasingly associated with attracting ‘antisocial behaviour’, benches have begun to be removed from towns and cities, or made deliberately uncomfortable to dissuade people from using them as meeting places.

The report argues that a lack of benches will disproportionately impact groups for whom other social spaces, such as coffee shops, are not available due to their cost or social codes. Instead of removing benches, people should be encouraged to use them through good planning, design and management of spaces.

Radhika Bynon, from the Young Foundation, said: “Benches are highly egalitarian, inviting anyone to become part of that place for a time. Without them, certain groups don’t have access to the public sphere. Benches may seem peripheral to the main issues of the day, but they connect to integration, housing, precarious employment, and corporate-led regeneration. Ultimately, benches support equality and we need more of them.”

Author: Amanda Burgauer, Chair of SRA

It is with great pleasure that we share with you our draft Manifesto for rural Scotland.

This is a statement of the collective views of people from all across our country – from Shetland to the Borders, Fife to Benbecula and many places in-between– about the needs of rural communities. We would like to thank everyone who attended and organised the events that gathered this information and those who replied to our surveys.

How we collectively take forward this Manifesto will be the heart of the discussion at the Rural Parliament to be held from 6th – 8th October this year, where we hope to agree a final version of the Manifesto and create an action plan, involving all levels of society, to take forward those items deemed most important.

Amanda Burgauer, Chair of Scottish Rural Action

Author: Dunbarton and Vale of Leven Reporter

Councillors Jim Bollan and George Black of West Dunbartonshir Council have joined forces to help create a new political party.

‘West Dunbartonshire Community Party’ aims to have local policies set by local people.

These policies will revolve around local issues or areas that directly affect local communities, such services in The Vale of Leven Hospital, new council homes building projects, Trident transportation throughout West Dunbartonshire and a total ban on fracking.

They aim to make sure decisions are taken more at community level, look at council spending, help attract employment and business to the area, look at the River Leven and the Clyde in both an environmental and commercial way and hope to introduce greater democracy into West Dunbartonshire Council.

The party is made up from a wide range of different political backgrounds, some who have not been in a political party for decades and some who pride themselves on being community activists. They are also joined by Jim Bollan and George Black.

Jim had decided to retire next May and George has been independent for several years, but Jim has decided to stand again for his Leven ward and in election for West Dunbartonshire’s community Party in 2017. George has decided to leave his independent status and stand for election in his Dumbarton ward for the new party.

George Black said: “This area needs political direction that is based on the needs of the people not on party political expediency. We need to concentrate on providing local services for local people.

“We have to return to democratic decision making and a first step in this process is to increase the frequency of council meetings to be held in public. We also need to insist on a guaranteed future for our local Vale of Leven Hospital for example. Support us, we are here to serve you.”

Jim said: “The formation of this local party by local people was the main reason I have decided not to retire at the next election but stand again for re-election under the WDCP banner which will concentrate on local issues being raised by communities across West Dunbartonshire.”

WDCP is hoping to attract like-minded people to come forward and represent their communities in the council elections in May 2017.

Author: Stephen Temlett, Daily Record

Windfarm cash has helped buy a new community tractor for Upper Nithsdale.

The Kirkconnel and Kelloholm Development Trust was awarded £32,000 from the SSE Sustainable Development Fund towards the cost of the vehicle.

And four volunteers from the community have been trained to operate the machine which will be used to cut grass in summer and clear or grit roads in the winter months.

Councillor John Syme said: “Two of the issues we had was getting the grass cut up here and roads cleared in the winter.

“The development trust came up with the idea for a community tractor that people can use and it will be needed a lot up here.

“A lot of areas are difficult to get to especially in the winter for gritting the roads. We’re looking to use this tractor quite a bit to help clear up the roads and help with winter maintenance which is vital up here.

“The council has just finished putting four folk through the training and now we want to show the community that it’s up and running.

“I’d like to thank the volunteers who gave up their time to be trained on it, everyone who helped secure the funding and the council for facilitating the training for the drivers.”