EIR/202600512592 · FOI/EIR · partially withheld
Annual awards and payments for solar PV installation under Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan scheme: EIR release
Information requested
1. The total number of loans and grants awarded per year by the Scottish government to private households to install solar PV from 22 June 2023 to the Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan scheme's closure in June 2024.
2. The total amount of loans and grants that the Scottish government has paid out per year to private households to install solar PV from 22 June 2023 to the Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan scheme's closure in June 2024.
Response
As the information you have requested is ‘environmental information’ for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.
This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.
The Home Energy Scotland (HES) Grant and Loan Scheme was launched in December 2022 and remains open to applications. The scheme provided funding for the installation of solar PV up to June 2024.
You requested information covering the period from 22 June 2023 to June 2024. As scheme data is reported on a monthly basis, the figures provided below cover the period from 1 June 2023 to 30 June 2024.
1. Number of Loans and Grants Awarded
The table below sets out the number of agreed funding awards for the installation of solar PV through the HES Grant and Loan Scheme from 1 June 2023 to 30 June 2024:
Number of Loans and Grants Awarded for Solar PV – 1 June 2023 to 30 June 2024 Number 2442
2. Total Amount of Loans and Grants Paid
The table below sets out the total value paid for solar PV installations through the HES Grant and Loan Scheme from 1 June 2023 – 30 June 2024. The figures include the total amount paid, as well as separate figures for grants and loans.
Amount of Loans and Grants for Solar PV Paid – 1 June 2023 to 30 June 2024 Funding Value (£) Total 16,749,075
This amount paid does not directly represent the value of agreed funding awards during this period, although there will be significant overlap between the two.
As funding offers are valid for 9 months, the value paid out in this period will include awards from before 1 June 2023 and not include payment of all awards agreed between 1 June 2023 and 30 June 2024.
About FOI
The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.
Contact Please quote the FOI reference Central Correspondence Unit Email: contactus@gov.scot Phone: 0300 244 4000 The Scottish Government St Andrew's House Regent Road Edinburgh EH1 3DG
Detected exemption language
We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA. This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes.
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