The development of a new Ayrshire Energy Masterplan has been approved by the Cabinet, as part of their commitment to achieving ambitious UK100 Net Zero targets.

The Cabinet has agreed to commit £30k towards a joint fund of £90k provided by all three Ayrshire Councils. Together with £40k from Scottish Enterprise, and a £20k contribution from the University of the West of Scotland (UWS), the total funding for the innovative project now stands at £150k.

The Ayrshire Energy Masterplan will serve as a catalyst for investment in energy infrastructure, including power, heat and transport, and will use new clean technologies and solutions to stimulate economic growth, community wealth building and resilience in the face of climate change.

Councillor Claire Leitch, cabinet member for Children and Young People, Net Zero, Environment and Climate Change, Equalities and Inclusion, East Ayrshire Council welcomed the approval: "We're delighted to add our support to this masterplan. As a region, Ayrshire has strong ambitions to reach Net Zero for the good of all who live work and visit here. The Regional Economic Partnership set up the Clean Growth Workstream in 2020 to harness the knowledge, expertise and insights of its members to deliver on these ambitions.

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"Working together, setting up and funding the Ayrshire Energy Masterplan will give us a clear pathway to help us transform the way we harness, use and connect renewable resources in the most cost effective way. It will allow us to face the challenges ahead with a holistic approach to decarbonising systems in Ayrshire while supporting the Ayrshire Growth Deal projects for the benefit of all our communities."

The overall objective of the energy masterplan is to present a pathway to net zero that maximises socio-economic benefits for Ayrshire. Now that the funding is in place, the exact scope of the AEM can be determined, it will include:

• An assessment of energy demand

• Identification of energy sources

• Development of a strategic energy vision for Ayrshire which links to each Council's strategic climate action plan

• Techno-economic evaluation of options

• Planning, scenario modelling, and reporting of proposed technical solutions

• Socio-economic impact modelling of options to identify opportunities for investment, business growth, skills and supply chain development at the regional level.

In the past month, East Ayrshire Council has taken decisive steps in confirming its commitment to tackling climate change with:

• The launch of the Clean Green East Ayrshire climate change strategy and webpages

• Online consultation on the climate change strategy (which runs until 26 November)

• Sign up to UK100's Net Zero commitment to be a Net Zero council by 2030 and a Net Zero area by 2045.

• The second Children and Young People's Climate Change Conference held in October and attended by over 800 local pupils, elected members, officers and community representatives

• Launch of the CoRE video outlining the project to be built at Knockroon