ALIenergy

What ALIenergy does

ALIenergy (Argyll, Lomond and the Islands Energy Agency) is a Scottish charity founded in 1999 that delivers free energy efficiency advice, affordable warmth services, STEM education, and community renewable energy project facilitation to households and communities across Argyll & Bute, Lochaber and the wider Highland region of North West Scotland. Its core services include home visits by Affordable Warmth Advisors who help households in fuel poverty with heating upgrades, tariff switching, bill management, and white goods provision; the STEM Education Programme funded by ScottishPower Renewables' Beinn an Tuirc 2 windfarm community benefit fund, which delivers school workshops and the annual MAK STEM Fest; and a Community Energy portfolio spanning geothermal (GeoAtlantic), bioeconomy (ENBIO), algal solutions (ASLEE), and the European CEES energy solidarity project. The organization deploys HeatSage smart heating control technology in approximately 100 Oban homes through a partnership with Connected Response, using ambient temperature, weather forecasts and resident comfort preferences to optimize electric storage heater charging.

Operationally, ALIenergy is a Company Limited by Guarantee (SC211429) and registered Scottish charity (SC032495) with a small team of roughly 10–15 staff including Affordable Warmth Advisors, Education Officers, CEO Lynda Mitchell and COO Rachel McNicol. Services are provided at no cost to end users; the operating model is funded primarily through grants and community benefit funds — including £100,000 from the Drax Foundation (2024), £25,000 from the Bank of Scotland Foundation (2024), £65,000 from the Scottish Power Foundation (2023), ongoing Energy Redress Scheme funding, Scottish Government Home Heating Support Fund awards, and the Beinn an Tuirc 2 STEM allocation. Distribution combines direct home visits across a vast geography covering 23 inhabited islands, telephone/video advice, community drop-in sessions, and a referral network anchored by Home Energy Scotland, food banks, Bute Advice Centre and Argyll & Bute Council. A subsidiary operation, the Oban Re_Store community charity shop opened in May 2024, extends the model into retail and rescued-food provision as part of the Oban Collective.

Name

ALIenergy

Legal name

Argyll, Lomond and the Islands Energy Agency

Website

https://alienergy.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ALIenergy is a Scottish charity founded in 1999 providing free energy efficiency advice, affordable warmth services, and STEM education to vulnerable households and communities across Argyll & Bute, Lochaber and Highland, funded by grants and renewable energy community benefit funds.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Energy Advisory Services

NAICS

Community Housing Services (62422), Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services (6242)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Homelessness Prevention, Shelter & Supportive Housing Services (BPAIANAC)

Keywords

• Energy advice services
• Fuel poverty advisory
• Affordable warmth
• Community energy projects
• STEM education programme

Headquarters

HQ city

Oban

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding: ALIenergy operates as a charity (SC032495) funded primarily through grants from government schemes, energy companies, and charitable foundations. Major funders include Energy Redress Scheme, ScottishPower Renewables Beinn an Tuirc 2 Windfarm, Bank of Scotland Foundation, Drax Foundation, and Scottish Government CARES scheme.
2. Donations: Community donations through Argyll Community Lottery (£1/week tickets, 60p to good causes) and direct donations to support operations.
3. ScottishPower Renewables Funding: Ongoing funding from ScottishPower Renewables' Beinn an Tuirc 2 Windfarm Community Benefit Fund supporting STEM Education and Skills Development Programme.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

ALIenergy is a Scottish community energy charity that delivers free Affordable Warmth advisory services (home visits, telephone advice, and case work on heating systems, tariffs, insulation and grants) to households in fuel poverty across Argyll & Bute, Lochaber and Highland. It also runs a STEM Education Programme for schools and communities and facilitates community renewables and local energy economy projects including shared ownership wind farm schemes. All services are provided free of charge to end users, funded by grants from government, charitable foundations and renewable energy community benefit funds.

Product overview

ALIenergy (Argyll, Lomond and the Islands Energy Agency) is a charitable community energy agency offering a portfolio of integrated services. The core offerings include the Affordable Warmth Service providing free energy advice and home visits to combat fuel poverty, the STEM Education Programme delivering workshops to schools, and Community Energy Projects supporting local renewable energy initiatives. Additional services include the Oban Re_Store community shop, Cosy Kits for vulnerable households, the Flexible Food and Fuel Fund grant program, and pilot programs like the HeatSage smart heating technology trial. Funded primarily by government schemes, energy companies, and community benefit funds, ALIenergy operates as a non-profit organization linking community, economy, and environment.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Oban Re_Store: Community charity shop operated as part of the Oban Collective, offering rescued food, clothing, household items, and hosting repair workshops.
• Affordable Warmth Service
• STEM Education Programme

Products and services

• Affordable Warmth Service Free specialist affordable warmth advice, home visits, workshops and referrals supporting vulnerable households suffering from fuel poverty across Argyll & Bute, Lochaber and Highland. Includes help with energy bills, heating systems, tariff switching, insulation, white goods and access to government schemes such as the Home Heating Support Fund.
• STEM Education Programme Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths activities and workshops delivered to young people, schools, families and community groups across Argyll and Bute, including events such as MAK STEM Fest, work experience days and industry site visits, funded by ScottishPower Renewables' Beinn an Tuirc 2 Windfarm Community Benefit Fund.
• Community Energy / Local Energy Economy Projects Facilitation of community renewable energy initiatives, shared ownership schemes and local energy economy projects, including the Corr Chnoc Wind Farm shared ownership partnership with Galileo, GeoAtlantic geothermal work, ENBIO bioeconomy project and the EU CEES energy solidarity partnership.
• Oban Re_Store Community charity shop on George Street, Oban, operated as part of the Oban Collective, offering rescued food, clothing, books, household items and children's toys, alongside regular repair and revamp workshops. Open Monday to Saturday, 10am–4pm, with a rescued food project 11am–1pm.

Quantifiable outcome

• £2.5 million in grants, benefits and rebates secured for over 1,800 households through Flexible Food and Fuel Fund
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• BAM NuttallminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 February 2026Sponsor and workshop provider for MAK STEM Fest 2026, providing engineering workshops and supporting STEM education events.
• SSEN TransmissionminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 February 2026Sponsor of MAK STEM Fest 2026 and site visit provider for students to visit Crossaig Substation.
• Siemens EnergyminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 February 2026Sponsor of MAK STEM Fest 2026 and workshop provider for Energy Farm activities.
• Home Energy ScotlandcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 February 2025Close partnership between ALIenergy and Home Energy Scotland to strengthen affordable warmth service delivery across Highland and Argyll and Bute. Both organizations work together on planning events and shows, leveraging their respective strengths to provide comprehensive support to local households.
• BAM Nuttall, SSEN, Siemens EnergyminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Sponsors of MAK STEM Fest 2025 covering venue hire, transportation, and lunch for 135 students.
• GalileocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 September 2024Partnership with renewable energy developer Galileo to develop a shared ownership scheme for Corr Chnoc Wind Farm, giving local communities opportunity to take up to 10% stake.
• Energy Action ScotlandcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Member organization for 14 years; ALIenergy Manager Lynda Mitchell served as EAS Convener 2021-23. Participation in annual conferences and awards.
• Connected ResponsecoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2021Partnership to deploy HeatSage smart heating control technology in Oban homes to help reduce heating bills and improve comfort for residents with electric storage heating.
• Smart Energy GBminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Partnership to help people understand the benefits of smart meters through information and advice delivery alongside energy advice services.
• CEES Project PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021European partnership including Snap!, Enercoop, Zelena energetska zadruga, University of Birmingham, Coopérnico, Repowering London, SCIC Les 7 Vents, and REScoop.eu to identify and analyze community energy initiatives to tackle fuel poverty.
• Argyll & Bute CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Partnership to deliver the Argyll and Bute Flexible Food Fund, working with Bute Advice Centre and Community Food Forum.
• Bute Advice CentrecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Key delivery partner for Flexible Food Fund and ongoing energy advice and money advice services in Argyll and Bute.
• Community Food ForumcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2021Partnership through local foodbanks to provide referral routes and support delivery of affordable warmth services.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Energy Saving Trust: Major UK charity delivering energy efficiency advice, programmes and policy work. Overlapping capabilities with ALIenergy but at far greater national scale.
• National Energy Action (NEA): UK's leading fuel poverty charity, working on policy, training and frontline advice delivery. A broader incumbent that overlaps with ALIenergy's mission and could compete for the same national grant funds.

Direct peers

• Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE): Bristol-based charity providing energy advice, community engagement on climate, and fuel poverty services. Comparable mission and frontline advice delivery model to ALIenergy, though operating in a different region.
• Community Energy Scotland: Membership body supporting community-owned renewable energy projects across Scotland. Directly comparable to ALIenergy's Community Energy / Local Energy Economy portfolio, including shared-ownership schemes.
• Energy Action Scotland: Scotland's national fuel poverty umbrella organisation; ALIenergy's CEO Lynda Mitchell served as EAS Convener 2021-23 and ALIenergy has been a member for 14 years. Strongly comparable in advocacy and convening role.
• Tighean Innse Gall: Hebrides-based housing and energy advice charity operating across the Western Isles. Comparable fuel poverty and housing support service to ALIenergy, with similar remote-and-rural Scottish operating context.
• SCARF (Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation): Charity delivering free, impartial energy efficiency advice and home visits across North East Scotland. Directly comparable service model to ALIenergy's Affordable Warmth Advisors.
• Home Energy Scotland: Scottish Government-funded advice service delivering home energy advice across Scotland. Directly comparable to ALIenergy's Affordable Warmth Service and an explicit close partner for client referrals and event co-delivery.
• Changeworks: Scottish charity providing home energy advice, fuel poverty services, and decarbonisation support. Closely comparable mission and operating model to ALIenergy in the affordable warmth space.

Regional players

• Cosy Homes Oxfordshire: Charity delivering energy-efficiency retrofit and advice across Oxfordshire. Comparable service model (home visits, retrofit coordination) but operating in a different UK region.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ALIenergy13
• Facebookfacebook.com/ALIenergy-312101169672
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/alienergy-argyll-lomond-and-the-islands-energy-agency

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ALIenergy