A business-backed community solar scheme in Fife which could have helped run a much-needed village hall has been scrapped because of UK Government funding changes.
The Springfield project was planned as a joint venture between the community and Lakini Ltd of Perthshire.
The company would have built a 5MW solar farm next to an identical community-owned scheme.
The project would have qualified for Feed-in Tariff funding for electricity generated, and netted several thousand pounds a year to go towards a new village hall.
The UK Government has cut Feed-in Tariff (FiT) funding and the Scottish Government was unable to help, meaning the Springfield project has had to be scrapped.
Community council chairman Crispin Hayes said: “Springfield had high hopes for the solar farm.
“The developer’s proposals were backed by all 25 people who attended a public meeting.
“We’d met an independent adviser to see us through the process, but the UK Government’s changes to the way solar is funded mean for the moment the scheme isn’t financially viable.
“We’re disappointed because opportunities to generate four-figure income every year, fixed for 20 years, don’t come along very often.
“The village has many families with children, and both the church hall and a community hall are in a poor state of repair.
“Springfield desperately needs a new hall and the solar farm would have helped pay for that.”
Neil Lindsay of Lakini said: “We had calculated that a cooperative model, where shares are sold to local people, would have produced many thousands of pounds a year for the community.
“FiT schemes give a guaranteed income and the changes to the scheme are causing serious concern in the industry.”
The UK Government unveiled a package of measures to reduce subsidies to renewable energy in an effort to keep down household bills.
The announcement followed projections from the Office for Budget Responsibility that subsidies would exceed spending cap levels.