A sustainable future – local renewable energy projects

Dumfries and Galloway is a natural place to establish the Crichton Carbon Centre. The region is rich in renewable and sustainable projects, and we are proud to live and work in such a forward-looking region.

Some of the region's Local Leaders include the Ashton Hayes Project, Barfil Organic Farm, Cream O' Galloway, Glenkens Community & Arts Trust, the Khosla house, Ironmacannie Mill, Kagyu Samye Ling Buddhist Retreat and Mersehead RSPB Reserve.

Ashton Hayes   http://www.goingcarbonneutral.co.uk/

The Ashton Hayes 'Going Carbon Neutral' Project aims to create the first carbon neutral village in England. Inspired by progress in Ashton Hayes, Crichton Carbon Centre aims to act as the fulcrum for a Dumfries & Galloway drive to become the first carbon neutral region in the UK, and the engagement of the local community will be crucial. Links with carbon footprint specialists at the University of Chester will also be a vital asset to the centre.

Barfil Organic Farm    www.barfil.co.uk

Maggie Gordon and Bob Lee do as much as they can to help the environment. They are organic farmers of traditional Galloway cattle, and have planted around 150 acres of trees to encourage local wildlife and biodiversity. They have set up their own wind turbine which provides energy for the running of their house, and have installed a woodfuel burner and air control system which helps harness their conservatory's heat and send it around the rest of the house.

Cream O' Galloway    http://www.creamogalloway.co.uk/

Cream O' Galloway is a popular visitor attraction based on Rainton dairy farm. The farm produces organic ice cream, which is an energy intensive product, so Director Wilma Finlay and her husband David decided to do what they could to produce their own renewable energy. With the support of the local community a wind turbine has been erected on their land, and the many children who visit the farm to enjoy the different activities are fascinated to learn about how wind energy works.

Glenkens Community & Arts Trust (GCAT)    http://www.glenkens-arts.com/

GCAT has developed the old school in New Galloway, SW Scotland to create a community, arts and business centre. The centre has a conference suite, performance area, exhibition space, meeting rooms and a range of facilities designed to support the communities of the Glenkens. People from within the local community have worked together to make the centre as environmentally friendly as possible, and have installed a wood pellet biomass boiler to provide heating.

Gillian and Vimal Khosla' house

Crichton Carbon Centre Co-founders, Gillian and Vimal Khosla, have introduced a variety of renewable energy schemes into their own house. Using water from a small burn that runs through their garden, they have set up a hydro turbine system. They have also built a small cottage on their land which is entirely carbon neutral. The cottage is powered by photovoltaic panels, and is heated by ground source heat pumps.

Ironmacannie Mill, Balmaclellan 

Chris and Jean Mason have lovingly converted their 17th century Water Mill into an inspirational model for renewable technology. The water from the mill pond, which originally powered the water wheel, has been diverted to drive a new micro-hydro turbine.  The two and a half kilowatts produced by this turbine is then used to power a water-sourced heat pump.  This pump uses the water prior to it entering the turbine and increases the heat available to warm the Mill House by a factor of three.  A final innovation uses the ROCs/FITs (paid by the government) to run an air sourced heat pump to warm the Mill Cottage.

Kagyu Samye Ling Buddhist Retreat at Eskdalemuir    http://www.samyeling.org/  

The Kagyu Samye Ling Buddhist Retreat in Eskdalemuir is an oasis of peace and calm set in a beautiful location. The monks aim to live at one with their surroundings, and are in the process of making the centre completely carbon neutral. They have installed several solar panels which provide hot water for the centre, and they encourage visitors to adopt their simple lifestyle, which uses minimal electricity and respects their environment

Mersehead RSPB Reserve   http://www.rspb.org.uk/   

The Mersehead RSPB reserve has been making a concerted effort to review all aspects of its workings to see how its carbon footprint can be reduced. In addition to attempts to reduce vehicle use and to recycle as much of the waste produced as possible, staff at the centre have installed solar panels on the visitor centre. The Mersehead reserve is a popular day out for local children, and the staff are keen to involve the young visitors in their green campaign.

“It’s great to see how enthusiastic the children get about recycling and caring for the environment. They go home and tell their parents all about it, and it’s a wonderful way of motivating the next generation.” Tina Flinn, Visitor and Community Liaison Officer at Mersehead RSPB Reserve

"We are not experts in renewable energy at all but it is always fascinating to learn something new. It always suprises me when people aren't motivated to make an effort for the environment. We wanted to do our bit." Gillian Khosla

Be part of this local initiative to help Dumfries and Galloway become a low carbon region:  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with your success stories.