By Michael Shanks

Copyright dailyrecord

Scotland has been the energy capital of the UK for decades. We want to make sure this continues long into the future. Alongside our record investment in clean energy projects across the UK, including Scotland, this also means delivering meaningful investment to benefit working Scots now . That’s why Great British Energy is bringing grassroots clean energy projects to your neighbourhood. From a community solar farm on the Isle of Arran to wind farms in Aberdeenshire, Great British Energy is helping to transform our isles into mini energy generators. Backed by £4 million of Great British Energy investment, the Scottish Government’s Community Energy Generation Growth Fund is delivering a further 48 community energy projects across Scotland. This will empower Scotland’s towns and villages to become more self-sustaining – cutting their energy bills or allowing profits to be reinvested back into the local community. This will guarantee that families, businesses and local communities reap the rewards of homegrown Scottish clean energy. Putting people in charge of their own energy generation is one key pillar of our mission for Britain to become a clean energy superpower. And it is another step towards maintaining Scotland’s historic role as the UK’s energy powerhouse. It comes as we continue to pump record investment into clean energy projects in Scotland, whether it be carbon capture technology, new offshore wind projects or transforming our ports to become world leading manufacturers of clean energy technologies. This will support thousands of jobs to secure the long-term future of Scottish homegrown energy. Creating new opportunities for our expert oil and gas workers and young people to deliver a cleaner future. That’s why we are also driving forward with plans to deliver training, workshops and careers advice. Our skills pilot in Aberdeen, backed by £900,000 of UK Government funding, is already supporting a fair and prosperous transition for 200 oil and gas workers. And we have backed the Skills Passport to enable workers to seamlessly move into clean energy jobs in offshore wind. We also have given Grangemouth workers tailored support to transfer their experience into new sectors whilst we continue to work urgently to secure a long-term industrial future at the Grangemouth site. This is about protecting Scottish workers and communities with well-paid jobs for life whilst delivering meaningful investment to cut bills and support families. From supporting the Acorn carbon capture and storage project in Aberdeenshire, expanding the Port of Cromarty to support floating offshore wind manufacturing, or backing local energy projects in your communities, we will not hesitate to deliver jobs and investment to the people of Scotland. Michael Shanks is the Minister for Energy in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. To sign up to the Daily R ecord Politics newsletter, click here