THE SMARTEES PROJECT

LOCAL SOCIAL INNOVATION

Fighting Fuel Poverty in Aberdeen

Aberdeen (Scotland) has taken strides in enhancing energy efficiency to tackle fuel poverty. The Aberdeen City Council, Aberdeen Heat and Power and SCARF (a social enterprise fighting fuel poverty) presented their approach to representatives of the city of Lahti (Finland) and Timișoara (Romania). Watch the video for key insights from this exchange that took place January 2019 and read more about the visit here.


Aberdeen, the third largest city in Scotland, is on a mission to significantly decrease the number of people living in fuel poverty. A household is considered to live in fuel poverty if they are forced to spend more than 10% of their gross income on heat and electricity. In 2019 the city introduced a new Fuel Poverty Scotland Bill, with a target of cutting the number of people living in fuel poverty down to 5% by 2040.


Several measures to this end have been taken - Aberdeen Heat and Power has installed seven Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plants providing seven megawatts of heat to council house buildings, schools, and recreational facilities. Since its establishment in 2002, Aberdeen Heat and Power has succeeded in connecting 26 multistory buildings to the system and reduced the city’s carbon footprint by 40%, while lowering heating costs for the residents significantly. SCARF in turn has supported households on the grassroots level by offering advice on energy efficiency through a call service and home visits. Aberdeen Heat and Power has also worked closely together with a local community centers offering affordable insulation to local households.

 

Read more about the SMARTEES fighting energy poverty through energy efficiency cluster here.

 

 

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This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 763912. The sole responsibility for the content of this website lies with the SMARTEES project. It does not necessarily represent the opinion of the European Union.