Orkney Islands Council has welcomed a £300,000 funding boost from the Scottish Government to support home energy efficiency works for homeowners across the county.

The funding will be managed and delivered locally by Warmworks, working on behalf of the council.

The funding increase follows the council's advocacy for additional support from the Scottish Government’s Heat and Energy Efficient Scotland: Area Based Scheme (HEES: ABS), after Orkney’s funding allocation was reduced by £750,000 compared to the previous year. The council and Warmworks are now better equipped to meet the high demand for energy efficiency improvements in the region.

With this £300,000 boost, it is estimated that around 30 additional homes in Orkney will receive energy-saving measures. These homes had already been assessed by Warmworks and were waiting for funding to proceed with necessary upgrades.


Warmworks, with a local office in Kirkwall, collaborates with local contractors to carry out the energy efficiency installations, ensuring the work is completed by skilled professionals in the area. This funding boost will help more households in Orkney reduce their energy costs and improve their homes' environmental sustainability.

Councillor Gwenda Shearer, Chair of the Council’s Education, Leisure and Housing Committee, said: "The Council is delighted with the news of the extra cash – but demand still outstrips the funding earmarked for Orkney.

"We're delighted the Scottish Government has taken the time to consider our request alongside the county's track record of delivering improvements to households who need it most.

"This latest £300k boost will allow us to continue at pace over the next few months to make inroads into the county’s eye watering fuel poverty levels.

"However, it still falls short of our allocation last year by £450k.

"We want to be very clear that we still have a significant number of households on the waiting list for a grant.

"We also have a well oiled machine capable of delivering an estimated further £200k of measures to local households before the end of this year's scheme – though clearly as the weeks march on that amount will reduce.

"We'd urge the Scottish Government to help us capitalise on that by reallocating underspends from other areas which at this late stage will be apparent – sooner than later.

"We'd also like to see a distribution model where Councils are allocated money from the national pot based on demonstrable demand and track record – to give local supply chains greater certainty and enable efficiencies within the scheme."