£76M Windfall For Scotland’s Low Carbon Economy

A new £76 million scheme to boost jobs and economic growth in
Scotland’s low carbon sector has been unveiled.
Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure, Investment and
Cities, Keith Brown, revealed that the Low Carbon Infrastructure
Transition Programme (LCITP) will provide tailored support for
established and start-up infrastructure projects across the private, public and community sectors. It aims to stimulate commercial interest and investment and maximise Scotland’s vast potential in the low carbon sector.
The scheme is receiving £33 million European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) grant funding under the new 2014-20 European Structural Funds (ESF)programme. The remainder is match funding from partners.
It will be jointly managed by the Scottish Government and public
sector partners including Scottish Futures Trust and Highlands and
Islands Enterprise. Resource Efficient Scotland, a programme of
Zero Waste Scotland, will provide technical expertise.
Three levels of support will be offered to low carbon projects:
Catalyst Support for start-up projects; Development Support for
more advanced projects; and Demonstrator Support for a projects already using commercially proven technology.
Mr Brown said: “The Scottish Government is committed to a
value for money approach to growing Scotland’s low carbon
economy, and the establishment of the Low Carbon Infrastructure
Transition Programme is a significant step in this effort.
“The estimated market value of sales in Scotland’s low carbon and
environmental goods and services sector in 2011/12 was £10.1 billion,with around 4200 companies employing 78,000 people. This is forecast to grow by 30 per cent to reach a value of £13.2 billion by
2016/17 and the Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme
will ensure that the low carbon sector delivers significant jobs and
economic growth for  Scotland.”