Latest news!
Daviot Solar Community Day
January 2025
Community Solar Feasibility Study
Oct 2024
We are pleased to announce that, as part of the recent CARES (Community and Renewable Energy Scheme) funding round, we have secured support for a technical and economic feasibility study to explore the potential for a community solar installation in Daviot. This opportunity has been made possible through the support of the Church of Scotland and a local tenant farmer.
To clarify, the purpose of this study is to assess whether installing a solar array in Daviot is technically and economically viable under various scenarios. It is important to note that this is just an exploratory phase, and no decisions have been made about moving forward with the project.
While Zero Carbon Daviot (ZCD) has secured funding for the study, the future direction of the project is very much in the hands of the community. We invite everyone to participate in open discussions aimed at finding a balance between energy security, sustainability, biodiversity, agriculture, reducing fuel poverty, and community benefit. These conversations will run alongside the feasibility study to gauge whether the project has broad community support and to shape its potential development.
We recognise that opinions on these matters can vary, and it is our hope that we can come together to have respectful and constructive discussions about the advantages and concerns. As with most things in life, the situation is not a simple case of right or wrong—there are many nuances to consider. While ZCD doesn’t have all the answers, we are eager to facilitate these discussions and engage the community in the process.
We are currently preparing a FAQ page to address common questions, and we are also planning a community event at the village hall, likely in late November or early December. In the meantime, we encourage you to reach out with any immediate questions, or you can join us at our next meeting on Monday, 14th October. Please remember that ZCD is not a corporate entity, and we have no intention of proceeding without broad community support—this is something we aim to do together.
JTPB Fund – We won!
December 2023
We’re thrilled to announce our entry to the Just Transition PB Fund was successful! £50,000 has been awarded for the purchase of a community electric vehicle.
There are lots of options to chose from when it comes to suitable vehicles, so we want to hear your ideas and we’ll be reaching out to the community to gauge interest.
Watch this space to hear about next steps!
Daviot Car Club – Voting Opens!
Since the start of Zero Carbon Daviot we’ve been inspired by the Huntly Travel Hub, which provides sustainable travel options to everyone in the Huntly community. We’ve had a vision to create something similar in Daviot and this project plans to provide a community electric vehicle, available for all, affordable, flexible and importantly, low emissions.
Community car clubs have proven popular in other communities, allowing those who can’t afford a car to access low emissions travel, and giving people the experience of an EV to understand what their range is and how long they take to charge.
If we are successful the funding will allow for purchase of the vehicle and the necessary charging equipment. The vehicle can then be operated by one of the existing leasing operators from a central location in the village.
Voting Closes 5pm Friday 13th October
AGM Announced!
This year’s Annual General Meeting will be held on
Monday 17th July 2023
7:30pm at The Shop, Main Street, Daviot
All members of the community are welcome to this year’s AGM.
Please come along to hear about all the years successful activities, progress on upcoming projects and to vote in new trustees.
1st April 2023 – Sustainable Travel Event
We were delighted to welcome local MSPs and leaders from Aberdeenshire Council to our Sustainable Travel event and e-bike launch. Lots of people enjoyed their first go on an e-bike and we had a great round table discussion with our local leadership on the challenges facing our community when it comes to active travel. Healthy debate around the local bus service and the lack of a safe cycling and walking route to Inverurie were among the topics covered.
Actions were taken forward and we hope for follow up discussions that will take us closer to reducing our car miles.
You can read more in this P&J article
24th March 2023
Exciting arrivals in Daviot as the e-bike storage unit arrives at Daviot Village Hall!
1st April 23 - Sustainable Travel Event
November 2022
Join the Daviot Energy Survey!
The cost of energy has never been higher.
- What if we could make savings by buying our energy together?
- What if we shared information on the best tariffs in Daviot?
We want to make it easier for people to use less energy, it help our wallets and it helps the planet too.
Please complete the Daviot Energy Survey and help us help each other.
You can fill it in anonymously, but the more data you provide the better
Who knows, maybe we could start our own energy company!
Take the survey here!
26th May 2021 – Reaching Out
Our trustees have begun the public outreach project, going door-to-door to all 450 homes in the community with membership forms and leaflets. So keep an eye out for them!
CLICK HERE if you’d like to become a member and join our mailing list. Membership is free and you’ll be kept up to date with activities and events in the community
24th May 2021 – E-Bike Trial Extended
The two community E-bikes have proved a great success so far being out on the road almost every day! And the great news is that the kind folk at Huntly Development Trust have allowed the trial to be extended, so please drop us an email or get in touch with The Shop at Daviot if you’d like to try one out. We also have a spare mountain bike available if three of you want to go out together.
Rental is £5 per day and you can do up to 60miles on a single charge!
17th May 2021 – Press Release
Today we published our first press release spreading news about our activities. Look out for it in your local media outlets or read it for yourself here.
This also marks the start of the wider community engagement exercise as we go door-to-door taking membership forms to all 450 homes in the Daviot Community.
April 2021 – Daviot Climate Question Time – Your local election candidates
On 28th April 2021 at 7:30pm
Hear what the candidates for the upcoming Scottish Parliament election are planning to do about the Climate and Ecological Emergency and ask them questions.
We have confirmations from Graeme Downie (Scottish Labour), Gillian Martin (SNP), Stewart Whyte (Scottish Conservatives), Conrad Wood (Scottish Liberal Democrats), and Maggie Chapman (Scottish Greens).
The format of the event will be:
1. Introductions by each candidate (5-7 minutes each), including answers to specific questions around
a) achieving net zero 2045,
b) achieving true zero by 2030, and
c) what message you would send to COP26 in one sentence.
2. Responses by each candidate to a series of questions selected from those submitted by the audience beforehand.
3. Closing remarks by each candidate (3 minutes each)
Please email your questions to us at info@zerocarbondaviot.org by Tuesday 27th April
Please register for the event via the EventBrite Page
1st April 2021 – eBikes are coming!
We are excited to share we will be trialing a community e-bike scheme from 26th April 2021. This trial will run for 4 weeks and we’ll have two bikes available for hire. Discounts will be available for members, and you can sign up for free membership here. We are grateful to Huntly Green Travel Hub for loaning the bikes to Daviot for this trial. More information will follow.