Energy
Sustainability

Our reliance on hydrocarbons (oil, gas and coal also know as fossil fuels) is centuries old. We use them to power trucks, cars and machines, to heat our homes and to generate our electricity. At one time industrialised society was concerned we might run out of fossil fuels and we congratulated ourselves that advancing technology made it possible to exploit reserves that had previously been out of reach. Now we realise that we are likely to have killed the planet before we exhaust the supplies of hydrocarbons. Not only do they remain the key source for carbon dioxide and global warming but our advancing technology has accelerated global destruction through fracking, open cast mining and the despoiling of our natural environment as new oil fields are tapped.

Coloured stripes showing temperature change in Scotland since 1884. The stripes are mostly blue on the left in 1890 which signifies colder, and mostly red on the right in 2010 which represents warmer

Think Global

A graph showing the range of domestic properties in Stirling council area, along with their construction types and fuel usage

Act local

A worker using a yellow van with a hydraulic platform installs solar panels on street lights

Act now

Coloured stripes showing temperature change in Scotland since 1884. The stripes are mostly blue on the left in 1890 which signifies colder, and mostly red on the right in 2010 which represents warmer
The climate stripes were created by Professor Ed Hawkins at the University of Reading. They show clearly and vividly how global average temperatures have risen over nearly two centuries until 2023, the warmest year on record.

Think Global

Energy sustainability is a global problem but global agreement seems elusive. The high number of vested interests mean that successive COP conferences have spent a large proportion of their time watering down commitments to gain agreement from countries reliant on fossil fuel for their industry or for their economy. COP 28 did at least link the climate and biodiversity crises, highlighting the need for nature conservation as a part of any global solution. It also finally referenced fossil fuels and is described by some as signalling the beginning of the end of the fossil fuel era.

For many others the decision to locate COP 28 in Dubai and the extensive event representation from big oil showed just how far away from the end of fossil fuels we are. Equally perverse is the UK government plan to continue to issue licenses for Noth Sea oil exploration despite the fact that its own Climate Change committee said such actions were incompatible with net zero targets.

A graph showing the range of domestic properties in Stirling council area, along with their construction types and fuel usage
Data captured by Stirling energy team to develop the Regional Energy Masterplan demonstrates the range of domestic properties and identifies some of the challenges in working towards energy efficiency. 

Act Local

The Scottish Government has a net zero strategy and a range of supporting guidance documents. This is a strand of their wider approach to achieving net zero in our buildings.

As part of the wider City Deal programme, Stirling and Clackmannanshire Council have produced a Regional Energy Masterplan.

While these documents are lengthy, they are comprehensive and well structured. However they are not all that easy to read and many deal with aspects that our outside our control. 

There are some key points that are worth highlighting. 

  • Addressing energy sustainability starts by reducing energy consumption- we need to reduce overall demand and in homes that will usually require retrofit of energy efficiency measures such as insulation. 
  • Only when that is happening should we progress to low carbon or no carbon heat systems; many of these will be powered by electricity from renewable generation 
  • In parallel we must encourage government to decouple gas and electricity prices. 
  • If we do not do all these things then we risk more people being driven into fuel poverty and more home-owners being unwilling to decarbonise 
A worker using a yellow van with a hydraulic platform installs solar panels on street lights
In the Killearn Court development the parking areas are illuminated by PV powered lighting 

Act Now

Most actions start by taking back control of our consumption; understanding our usage and reducing our demand. This could be through smart meters and is likely to involve better insulation and draught proofing. There are often simple things that we can do to maximise the benefit from our energy usage, opening the oven door after cooking and not emptying your bath until you’re dry reuses the residual heat. More energy saving top tips that you can do for yourselves can be found online.

Understanding where to go for advice and support is important. Organisations like the Energy Savings Trust and Home Energy Scotland are government funded and give impartial advice though the volume of information on the website can be daunting and it is hard to know where to go next for objective bespoke assessment or reliable contractors.

Realistically meeting the nationwide targets for home energy improvements will require more assessors and more contractors than there currently are. One option being considered is whether Killearn can link with other villages to create a retrofit hub that would provide a source of local advice and links to local assessors and local contractors. In other parts of the country, this approach has given greater confidence to home owners as well as supporting local employment and growing retrofit capability and capacity. If you want to find out more or better still if you want to get involved please email [email protected]