DUNDEE HAS been keen to boost its credentials in the “green” energy field but it seems the message may not have got through to the business community yet.

A report on a national loan scheme to help small and medium-sized companies to improve their energy efficiency has found that since it began in 1999 not a single application has been made from the city.

Dundee is one of only two local authorities where nobody has made use of interest-free funding from Loan Action Scotland. The other is Inverclyde.

Last year about £1 million was loaned to companies across Scotland. Loans from £5000-£50,000 are available, although the maximum will soon be doubled.

The cash is meant to pay for work such as installing more efficient plant and controls, heat recovery, insulation and lighting. The Energy Saving Trust has been promoting the scheme, but many applications have also been made through local enterprise companies.

Fife has accounted for more than 4% of loan applications, with Angus and Perth and Kinross both scoring more than 3%. Projects financed to date nationally are reckoned to save about 3600 tonnes of carbon emissions a year.

The report said, “The scheme also aims to reduce energy costs and improve competitiveness and profitability among Scotland’s businesses. The programme is highly rated by businesses and has a high degree of customer satisfaction.

“There is a higher level of uptake in rural areas, while in urban parts of Scotland take-up is very low compared with the overall business base. This suggests a need for more proactive marketing in Scotland’s cities, perhaps focusing on key sectors that are high energy users.”

Ministers are now considering recommendations to work more closely with local enterprise companies such as Scottish Enterprise Tayside to promote the programme. The name may also be changed to make its purpose more obvious.

Dundee City Council has been trying to increase the use of solar energy through the Sun City scheme. Other energy efficiency measures locally include ground source heat pumps at the rebuilt Morgan Academy and the twin wind turbines at the Michelin tyre factory.