Homes and businesses across 11 local authority areas will be warmer and cheaper to heat thanks to over £9 million of Scottish Government funding.
Councils have been awarded the funding to pilot new and innovative approaches to drive down energy bills and tackle climate change, but most of the money will be spent on insulation.
Scotland’s Energy Efficiency Programme (SEEP) Pathfinder Fund is being directed at businesses, community groups and individuals working and living in areas with particularly high levels of fuel poverty.
Scottish Energy Minister Paul Wheelhouse said: “By taking a coordinated approach to improving buildings across the commercial, public and industrial sectors we are not only boosting the economy but will be able to substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions which will help us meet our ambitious climate change targets.
“This is part of our overall investment of over £1 billion by 2021 in energy efficiency which aims to make homes and buildings warmer, improve health outcomes and create a supply chain across all of Scotland which will support around 4,000 jobs a year once the programme is fully operational.”
These pilots will help shape the wider work that will be delivered when SEEP is rolled out further from 2018.