In 2020 the Scottish Secretary announced a £251 million investment into the Ayrshire region known as the Ayrshire Growth Deal (AGD). The AGD is a partnership between the three Ayrshire Councils and the UK and Scottish Governments in order to regenerate the area and develop key opportunities.

Through the AGD, East Ayrshire Council has been able to create the Community Renewable Energy (CoRE) project as part of the development of the region as an exemplar for transitioning to a low-carbon society.

As part of the CoRE initiative, East Ayrshire will deliver a programme of renewable energy demonstrator projects utilising the existing assets that East Ayrshire has in the area for generating energy and transforming energy production and distribution.

The first of these projects will consider sustainable transport, low-carbon housing retrofit and renewable energy generation. The Region has an abundance of wind energy, with numerous existing and planned wind farms such as Whitelee where a partnership made up of ScottishPower, ITM Power and BOC are already developing the site for the production of hydrogen to supply local transport. The Council are keen to develop hydrogen demonstrator projects.

To find out more about the CoRE project and learn how you can get involved, contact CoRE Project Lead Diarmid Turnbull https://www.linkedin.com/in/diarmidturnbull/