David Laws, MP for Yeovil constituency, has welcomed this week’s announcement by the Business Secretary Vince Cable MP that the UK Green Investment Bank will invest £60 million in community-scale renewable energy projects across Britain.

This new investment will fund up to 30 projects generating around 24MW of new renewable energy in the UK, enough to power 17,500 homes. The first project to be funded by this investment will be a new hydro-electric power scheme near Crianlarich, north of Loch Lomond. This £8.5m project will generate enough electricity to power around 1,900 homes. £50 million of the money will come from the Green Investment Bank, while the Strathclyde Pension Fund will provide the extra £10 million. The money will be used to finance a wide range of community-scale renewable construction projects, including run-of-river hydro power and onshore wind on brownfield sites such as industrial estates.

Mr. Laws said: "This is exactly why we established the UK Green Investment Bank back in 2012, the first investment bank dedicated entirely to the vital task of greening our economy. This £60m of investment will fund renewable energy projects across the United Kingdom and provide clean energy for over 17,000 homes.

"If we are really going to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels and win the battle against climate change, we must be serious about investing in renewable energy production.

"Here in Britain we have the capacity to produce an additional 800MW from hydro-power projects, enough energy to power 500,000 homes with renewable energy. It is vital that we invest in that potential because it will allow us to reduce our carbon emissions and protect the environment we are so dependent on."