Community organisations throughout the north of Scotland have been granted a significant financial injection exceeding £2 million.

Delivered via SSEN Transmission's Regional Community Benefit Fund, a total of £2.37 million has been allocated to 14 distinct projects. These initiatives are focused on alleviating fuel poverty, supporting regional culture, and fostering skills development.

The latest round of funding brings the total investment in local projects to more than £4 million, following the inaugural awards granted last year. These distributions are part of a broader commitment by SSEN Transmission to provide over £100 million in community benefits, made possible by the development of new electricity infrastructure designed to support the UK's energy security and clean power goals.

The 14 successful recipients in this round include:

• Tighean Innse Gall (£393,883.35): Researching island housing types to design bespoke energy efficiency solutions in the Western Isles.

• Changeworks (£169,666): Helping park home residents across the north of Scotland through the Warmer, Greener Park Home Communities initiative.

• Aberdeen Cyrenians (£149,362): Supporting the NorthBridge hub for people facing redundancy to develop skills and find employment.

• For You Training (Farmer Jones Academy) (£149,180): Creating a community innovation campus in Tain to boost education and sustainability in the Highlands.

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• Growing2gether (£199,379): Expanding mental health and qualification programmes for disadvantaged young people in the Highlands and Moray.

• Fisheries Management Scotland (£149,949.44): Facilitating paid nature-based training placements through the Working with Rivers project.

• Rock Trust (£201,217): Supporting a youth housing hub in Perth for young people facing homelessness.

• Helm Training (£49,934): Funding the Anchors Up programme in Dundee for personal development and vocational training.

• Enable Scotland (£226,993): Delivering accredited digital skills training to disabled people across the north of Scotland via One Digital.

• New Start Highland (£95,327): Establishing the Highland Hospitality and Cookery School to provide vocational qualifications.

• Eden Court Highlands (£65,742): Running the Film Futures programme for young refugees and asylum seekers in the Highlands.

• Dundee Industrial Heritage SCIO (£40,000): Assisting the transformation of Discovery Point into a modern visitor and learning hub.

• The Islands Book Trust (£141,000): Creating a digital hub in Lewis to preserve island heritage and support volunteer organisations.

• Comann Eachdraidh Eirisgeidh (£340,895): Redeveloping the old Eriskay school into a community hub and sustainable heritage centre.

Peter Peacock, Independent Chair of the Regional Community Benefit Fund, said: "We're proud to support these outstanding organisations as they deliver real, lasting benefits for communities across the north of Scotland. Each project reflects the hard work of those building strong, resilient places – whether through skills and employability, improving local facilities, or helping to tackle fuel poverty. We had a high level of interest in the second round of the fund, with a very strong standard of applications, and our thanks go to all who applied. We now look forward to seeing the positive impact of this funding across the region."

Gary Hughes, Economic Development Manager at SSEN Transmission, added: "These awards show our commitment to ensuring that critical electricity infrastructure delivers real benefits for local communities, especially in remote and island areas. Between our regional fund and the local funds we are creating, more than £100m will be made available for community benefit across the north of Scotland. This is just one of the positive legacies our investment is delivering as we work to strengthen energy security and support the transition to clean power."