Scottish Government: Businesses receive £7.2m in government funding for carbon-cutting projects

Scottish businesses have been awarded £7.2m in government funding to develop innovative energy saving projects.

The Scottish Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (SIETF) supports projects that reduce carbon emissions from energy-intensive production processes.

This set of grants was awarded to nine projects across a range of sectors – including food and drink manufacturing and wood pallet processing – using private funds, bringing the total investment to £19m.

First Minister John Swinney visited the Chivas Brothers Strathclyde distillery in Glasgow – which produces grain whisky for blends including Chivas Regal and Ballantine’s – to see its new mechanical vapour recompression (MVR) technology, which was supported by a £3.1m grant from the latest round of the SIETF.

The company says this will cut carbon dioxide emissions from the distillation process by more than half and reduce energy consumption by more than 46,000 megawatt-hours per year – enough energy to power 17,000 homes for a year.

The First Minister said: “Growing the economy and tackling the climate emergency are two of my priorities in Government. Projects like this at Strathclyde Distillery will be vital to helping us deliver on our climate change ambitions and promoting sustainable growth across Scotland – supporting our existing energy-intensive sectors and attracting the manufacturing industry of the future.

“With an average ratio of £1 of public funding to £1.75 of private funding, the Scottish Industrial Energy Transformation Fund has had incredible success in leveraging investment in industrial sites to accelerate the deployment of low carbon and energy efficient technologies. The fund also delivers business benefits through energy-related manufacturing savings.

“SIETF shows how government and industry are taking joint steps to deliver on the climate change agenda by jointly investing in the decarbonisation of industrial sites on which local jobs and communities depend.

“We will continue to work closely with industrial sectors to support the delivery of projects to decarbonise Scotland’s manufacturing sector.”

Chivas Brothers Production Director Brian MacAulay said: “This funding from the Scottish Government through the SIETF underlines our approach to decarbonisation and our commitment to shaping the future of sustainable Scotch whisky.

“Only by implementing innovative solutions and working with specialist partners such as GEA Wiegand can we reduce our environmental impact while ensuring the longevity and resilience of the Scotch whisky industry for generations to come.”

Mark Kent, Chief Executive of the Scotch Whisky Association, said: “The way the Scotch whisky industry achieves emissions reductions will be as diverse as our distilleries and locations.

“Each location will face different challenges, but with the support of the Scottish Government through grants such as the SIETF, distilleries can accelerate the decarbonisation of their own operations, enabling us to achieve our shared industry target for 2040.

“As an industry with a strong reputation for environmental improvement, we are committed to achieving net zero emissions across our own operations and supply chains as quickly as possible. Innovation, collaboration and an enabling policy framework will enable us to continue celebrating and producing Scotch whisky for the long term.”