A Perthshire community is aiming to drastically reduce its dependence on fossil fuels like oil and coal.

People in the upper Tay area are bidding to be the first in Scotland to save more of the global warming gas carbon dioxide than they use.

They have come up with a range of projects as part of the effort to achieve that aim.

Residents are planning to use local energy sources such as rivers, burns and timber.

If there is one area ideally placed to go green it is surely Aberfeldy and a string of villages in the upper Tay area.

A heavy price

There is liquid energy in the form of the river and dozens of burns. Woodland stretches up the hillsides.

Of course, it's also a long way from the central belt, which means petrol is expensive and travel comes at a heavy price.

All this got people thinking about what they could do to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels - and they have come up with some solutions.

Brendan Murphy, of the Upper Tay Area Group which is driving the idea forward, said these included the introduction of an LPG fuel pump at the town's garage.

The community has also successfully pressed for the specification for the new school to include a biomass woodchip heating system.

In the centre of Aberfeldy an old water mill which used to grind oats is being refurbished.

It has lain empty for the past couple of years, but many of the original features are still in working order and now an ambitious programme of works is underway to turn it into an arts centre.

Kevin Ramage, who owns book shops in England, has come to live in the town.

His project combines his ambition to create the biggest bookshop in the rural Highlands with some green energy ideas.

Reuse and recycle

"We are converting the building into a book shop, art gallery, music and coffee shop," he said.

"Part of what we are doing is keeping as much of the old building as we can and trying to reuse and recycle.

"We will use the energy from the wheel to power the lighting of the building."

There will also be a wood burning stove.

Meanwhile, a couple of miles further up the Tay farmer Dave Murray is also involved in an ambitious project - and his is already up and running.

He got together with two other farmers to invest in a small-scale hydro scheme taking advantage of all the water running off the hills.

It should provide enough electricity every year for 3,000 people, and he sells it to ScottishPower.

But there is a lot more work to be done if the community is to be the first in Scotland to reach what it describes as a "carbon balance" - where use of fossil fuel is more than offset by use of greener alternatives.

Unseasonable downpours

Mr Murphy says you have to start somewhere - and believes that if enough places took up the idea it really could make a difference.

Last summer's floods in Perthshire concentrated a few minds.

If the unseasonal August downpours really were connected to global warming - and if reducing carbon dioxide is the way to halt it - then they wanted to do their bit.

And as a business proposition, they hope it will also do something for the area's clean green image.