Energy efficiency schemes given £3.5m

Marches LEP chair Mandy Thorn said there had been a 'tremendous' interest in the funding

Three energy projects in Shropshire and Herefordshire have been awarded £3.5m.

The Marches Local Enterprise Partnership gave £654,000 to install monitors at 250 substations to make the supply of electricity more efficient.

There is also £1.2m for green energy courses for business and a funding pot of almost £1.6m to help companies use energy more efficiently.

The partnership said it wanted to support businesses in the energy crisis and to help them meet climate targets.

The three recipients were chosen from a list of 29 different projects which applied for cash from the funding body, which supports businesses in the two counties.

Marches LEP chair Mandy Thorn said the schemes would "play a major role in safeguarding supplies and building clean, green energy for the future".

The electricity substation monitors will be installed at electricity substations across Herefordshire and Shropshire by National Grid and EA Technology.

LEP chief executive Rachel Laver said it could "free up available energy capacity, allowing other projects currently on hold because of grid constraints to go ahead in its wake".

Herefordshire, Ludlow and North Shropshire College was chosen to provide the green training for businesses and it will be delivered from its campus on the edge of Hereford.

The £1.6m funding pot will offer free advice and grants for energy efficiency and renewable energy measures for small and medium-sized companies and community buildings.

The LEP also held back £500,000 to award to other suitable schemes in the future.

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