ILES Glencoe Project

QMPF advised Highland Council on its 359 MWh p.a. district heating scheme in Glencoe Village and its application for Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme (“LCITP”) grant funding. The proposed scheme will have a water source heat pump and photovoltaic array, with the photovoltaic array providing electricity to the heat pump with excess power exported to the grid. The project will benefit from RHI and FiT subsidy income. The scheme has an expected capital expenditure requirement of c.£1.4m and will provide heat to a local primary school, dental practice and residential units (including some social housing). QMPF developed a financial model for the scheme and drafted the financial section of the Investment Grade Business Case. We worked with the technical advisers (Atkins) to deliver a base case financial model including running several sensitivities. We also considered and reported on funding options available for the funding requirement not covered by the LCITP grant.

This project had secured funding under the Innovative Local Energy Systems (“ILES”) programme run by the Scottish LCITP to provide support to develop an investment-ready business proposal. QMPF was sub-contracted to Atkins on this remit.

Eddie Boyd, Energy & Sustainability Manager at Highland Council said: “The study has allowed the Council to test the feasibility of district heating to very rural locations and shown great value in the exercise supported by the ILES fund”

David O’Donnell, Senior Engineer in Decentralised Energy at Atkins said: “QMPF successfully bridged the gap between our own technical modelling and the financial outputs required to inform a clear investment decision. What was most impressive was their clear communication to the end client of their funding alternatives and their ability to deal with the residual element of technical uncertainty that is inevitable in such a scheme at this stage.”