Announced on the day of the GIB annual review in Edinburgh, GIB has put forward £2m of funding towards a programme of sewage heat recovery system installations across Scotland, with an additional £2m coming from the Equitix Energy Efficiency Fund.

The GIB has now committed more than £2bn to transactions worth over £8bn in 50 green projects across the country.

GIB chairman Lord Smith of Kelvin said the new investment would equip the college with a pioneering technology. “Our 50th investment neatly sums up what we are trying to achieve at GIB,” he said. “We are backing the deployment of innovative new technology across the UK to produce renewable energy, cut energy use, cut costs and improve the UK’s green performance.”

This latest GIB-funded project, developed by SHARC Energy Systems, will see heat extracted from waste water and sold to Borders College, resulting in energy and cost savings and reduced carbon emissions. The £4m of funding will equip Borders College, a school with 5,500 students, with a sustainable heat system which will aim to deliver 95% of the college’s heating requirements.

Green potential

Speaking at GIB’s annual review in Edinburgh, Lord Dunlop – Parliamentary under secretary of state for Scotland – said: “Today’s announcement will make a positive contribution for the local community in the borders and, in time, the rest of the UK.”

Lord Dunlop said investments supported by GIB had brought in more than £8bn of investment into the UK in a boost for the UK’s green energy needs. He added: “In the years ahead I am certain GIB will help many more innovative project ideas become reality, helping the UK stay at the forefront of energy infrastructure and ensuring Scotland fulfils its enormous green energy potential.”

Earlier this week, GIB and Equitix announced another new investment; in a UK-wide commercial LED programme, with each partner investing £2.5m in the project. That project, developed by Climate Energy, will see the installation of energy efficient LED lighting at sites across the UK, starting with a global aviation supplier on the Isle of Wight.

Equitix CEO Geoff Jackson said: “It is good to see companies taking a serious interest in their energy consumption and implementing responsive action to make a change.”

Privitisation plans

GIB was launched in 2012 with £3.8bn of funding from the UK Government. Sky News reported at the weekend government ministers were preparing to begin sales of shares in the GIB as part of a Conservative privatisation programme.

Major GIB investments have included £240m for the UK’s offshore Sheringham Shoal wind farm and £50m for Recycling and Waste LP.

Matt Field

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