Loganair widens its reach with a further £30,000 for local renewable energy projects
The UK’s largest regional airline, Loganair, has announced that it will award a further £30,000 to organisations across the UK and Northern Ireland in support of local renewable energy projects as part of its Greenskies Community Fund.
As part of the airlines journey to net-zero by 2040, earlier this year, the airline distributed £5,000 grants to six companies across Scotland, supporting them to establish projects such as small-scale wind systems, solar panels, small-scale hydro power, and charging point stations for electric vehicles.
Building on the success of the first round of funding, the airline now hopes to support more projects with further grants. Applications for round two of the Community Fund scheme are now invited and the airline has extended the eligibility to organisations in other parts of the country as it builds on its commitment to serving regions across the UK and Northern Ireland.
Scottish organisations will see a further £10,000 of funding, surplus to the £30,000 already awarded earlier this year. Additionally, £20,000 is also being made available to support renewable energy projects in some of Loganair’s wider areas of operation including Southampton, Newcastle, Isle of Man and City of Derry.
Luke Lovegrove, Chief Commercial Officer at Loganair, said:
“Following the distribution of the GreenSkies grants earlier this year, we have seen fantastic progress amongst the projects that received funding.
As we continue to drive forward our GreenSkies programme to offset carbon emissions and develop future flight technologies, we also want to encourage and support like-minded organisations in communities we serve, in our shared aim for a greener future
We are thrilled that we have been able to support the efforts of organisations across Scotland and can now take this a step further with additional money that helps those across other parts of the country as they also tackle carbon emissions.”
Among previous successful applicants was Eday Community Enterprises, a community-owned shop on one of Orkney’s smaller islands, Eday. The Shop has used its Greenskies Community grant to purchase energy efficient freezers.
Richard Shaw, Chair of the Shop’s Management Committee commented:
“The money received from Loganair was very much appreciated. While it specifically went towards the purchase of new, efficient upright freezers, this was an essential part of a much bigger, transformational project – to make the Eday Community Shop financially sustainable and to create a real community hub there.”
Isle of Lewis’ Macaulay College, a not-for-profit community interest company which supports adults and young people with additional social and educational requirements, has used their Greenskies Community grant to invest in solar energy. The installation of solar panels will help to ensure that clean energy is the primary source for the building – a big first step in fulfilling a longstanding wish for solar energy to be introduced across the island.
Development Worker from Macaulay College said:
“We were delighted to be successful in being awarded the GreenSkies Community Fund grant from Loganair earlier this year. We are using the monies to install new solar panels which will make a huge difference for our energy bills this winter as well as give us a cleaner source of power going forward.”
Another recipient was Islay Development Initiative who have committed the funding to new air source heating within Bowmore Community Hall which is being installed in early November.
Thomasina Glover CEO of Islay Development Initiative added:
“It’s fantastic to see lifeline organisations such as Loganair donating to benefit the communities they serve, but this is made even better with the strong green ethos. By helping community groups to move towards net zero in the face of an energy crisis, we are able to offer new projects such as Warm Spaces which will benefit the whole community.”
Loganair’s GreenSkies programme was launched in July 2021 with the introduction of a small mandatory carbon offsetting charge levied on all flights, with the money invested in accredited offsetting schemes.
The airline is involved in a wide range of additional initiatives to manage and mitigate the environmental impact of flying and is the only UK regional carrier participating in the UK Government’s “Jet Zero Council” initiative – launched by the Prime Minister last summer – to de-carbonise air travel.
The Greenskies Community Fund is now open and applications should be submitted by Monday 31 October, via the Loganair website.
