Grant Information and Funding Sources
Home Energy Saving Grants
Domestic Renewables Project Grants
Commercial Renewables - Enhanced Capital Allowances
Commercial Renewables - Interest Free Loans
Lottery Funding
Infrastructure Funding for Alternative Fuels
Shell Springboard
Investment Funds
Grants for Home Energy Efficiency Measures
The government’s Energy Review 2006 reaffirms the existing commitment to eliminate “fuel poverty” which is defined as the need to spend more than 10% of a family’s disposable income on energy to maintain a healthy living environment. To that end, families that can claim one of the following benefits may be eligible to receive 100% grants for insulation, lighting or more efficient heating systems:
- Income Support
- Housing Benefit
- Council Tax Benefit (but not including the single occupancy reduction)
- Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
- Attendance Allowance
- Disability Living Allowance
- War Disablement Pension (which must include mobility supplement or constant attendance allowance)
- Disablement Pension Credit (which must include constant attendance allowance)
- Child Tax Credit (with a household income of less than £14,600)
- Working Tax Credit (with a household income of less than £14,600)
- State Pension Credit
The mechanisms for achieving this commitment are the Warm Front programme in England, Scotland’s Warm Deal and Central Heating Programme, Wales’ Home Energy Efficiency Scheme and Northern Ireland’s Warm Home Scheme.
The Heat Project
provides free and grant assisted loft and cavity wall insulation to all homeowners and private tenants. Call free on 0800 093 40 50 for more information or visit
www.heatproject.co.uk
In addition, householders, tenants and homeowners, over 70 years of age can get cavity wall and loft insulation free. Contact your local energy efficiency advice centres eeacs for information.
Grants for Domestic Renewables Projects
The government’s Low Carbon Buildings Programme will provide a grant of up to £400 for a new domestic solar heating system, for example, (in Scotland the grant rate is 30% of the system price up to a maximum of £4,000), but before awarding a grant, as a householder, you must demonstrate that you are not wasting energy elsewhere in your home and have taken measures such as installing loft insulation, cavity wall insulation, low energy light bulbs and room thermostat/timer controls for your central heating. Visit our home energy saving section for ideas and suppliers of these technologies.
Local Grants
Many local grants are available. We recommend that you check with your local council or library for grant availability in your area.
Solar for London offers grants of up to £1500 for new domestic solar heating systems.
Affordable Energy offers homeowners and landlords grants for heating, insulation and solar heating.
The Scottish Community and Householder Renewables Initiative (SCHRI) provides funding for most household/community renewables technologies as well as funding for connections to the Lerwick District Heating Network. Information and application forms can be found at the Energy Savings Trust website:
www.est.org.uk/schri/
Community Energy Scotland provide grant funding and advice on small-scale renewable energy to householders and community groups throughout the Highlands and Islands. It also holds a grant and investment fund to help communities develop larger-scale projects to generate and sell energy, bringing revenue to their community. CES also provides renewable energy advice to applicants to Big Lottery Fund Scotland's Growing Community Assets (GCA) funding scheme.
National Grants
The DTI's Low Carbon Buildings Programme provides grants for microgeneration technologies for householders, community organisations, schools, the public sector and businesses. The programme is managed by the Energy Saving Trust.
Launched on 1 April 2006, the programme was scheduled to run over three years, but has now been extended for householder applications to June 2010. The programme is UK-wide (apart from the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man) and will demonstrate how energy efficiency and microgeneration will work hand in hand to create low carbon buildings.
There are two streams of grants available:
- Stream 1 - these grants apply to smaller projects for home owners and community groups among others.
- Stream 2 - these grants apply to medium and large scale microgeneration projects and will available to public, not for profit and commercial organisations. Stream 2 grants were launched in September 2006.
The technologies covered by the Low Carbon Buildings Programmes are:
- Solar photovoltaics.
- Wind turbines.
- Small hydro.
- Solar thermal hot water.
- Ground source heat pumps.
- Water/air source heat pumps.
- Bio-energy.
- Renewable CHP.
- MicroCHP (Combined heat and power).
- Fuel cells.
Details of the programme and an online application system can be found at www.lowcarbonbuildings.org.uk .
Reconnect in Northern Ireland
The Reconnect programme is the grant programme for householders in Northern Ireland delivered by Action Renewables
Reconnect opened for applications on 24th July 2006, and it aims to assist at least 4,000 private households to install up to two of the following technologies: solar hot water, photovoltaics (PV), wood fuelled boilers, wood pellet stoves, ground source heating, hydro electric turbines or wind turbines. The total funding allocated to this programme, over two years, is £8m.
Click here for details of the Reconnect grants available and information on NI's PV Top-Up Scheme and Help with Hydro.
E.ON funding for Community and Charitable Projects
E.ON, the power and gas company, is offering grants of up to £30,000 for UK community energy projects that reduce carbon emissions. The grants could be used for everything from wind turbines on community hall roofs to extra insulation to cut down on heat loss.
Applications for funding will be reviewed three times a year. The website, which contains full details of how to apply for a grant, can be accessed at www.eon-uk.com/source
Financial assistance for Commercial Renewables Projects
Enhanced Capital Allowance Scheme
Enhanced Capital Allowances (ECAs) enable a business to claim 100% first-year capital allowances on their spending on qualifying plant and machinery. There are three schemes for ECAs:
- Energy-saving plant and machinery
- Low carbon dioxide emission cars and natural gas and hydrogen refueling infrastructure
- Water conservation plant and machinery
Businesses can write off the whole of the capital cost of their investment in these technologies against their taxable profits of the period during which they make the investment. This can deliver a helpful cash flow boost and a shortened payback period.
Within the ECA Energy stream are Solar Heating Systems, CHP, Biomass boilers and Ground, Air and Water Source Heating Systems. See: www.eca.gov.uk/etl
Details of the ECA Low Emission Transport stream can be found at www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/camanual/Index.htm
Included in the ECA Water Conservation Stream are low water use showers and toilets and Rainwater Harvesting. Information can be found at: www.eca-water.gov.uk
Interest Free Loans for Industry
Unsecured interest-free Energy-Efficiency loans of up to £100,000 (£200,000 in Northern Ireland) are available for SMEs through the Carbon Trust for when you replace or upgrade your existing equipment with a more energy-efficient version to fund projects such as lighting, boilers or insulation.
Details of the scheme and an online application form can be found at: www.carbontrust.co.uk/energy/takingaction/loans.htm
Supported with finance from the Scottish Executive and the East of Scotland European Partnership,
ext,www.thebep.org.uk/las:Loan Action Scotland# allows SMEs to borrow between £5,000 and £100,000 interest-free and repayable up to 4 years to be used to help a business to reduce its energy consumption. Click the link or call 0131 561 6270.
Lottery Funding for Bio-Energy Projects
The BIG Lottery Fund hands out half of the good causes’ money from The National Lottery, some £630 million a year. Seven projects have each been awarded grants of up to £500,000 under the Bio-Energy Capital Grants Scheme (BECGS), part of the former New Opportunity Fund’s (NOF) Renewable Energy programme which is now administered by BIG.
Call the BIG Advice Line on 0845 410 2030 or visit the BIG website.
www.biglotteryfund.org.uk
Infrastructure Grants for Alternative Fuels
To encourage the development of a nationwide network of public fuelling stations, grants are available for the installation of refuelling or recharging equipment for alternative fuels. Qualifying fuels include hydrogen, E85 bioethanol, natural gas and biogas.
The grants generously provide for at least 30% of the cost of the equipment, construction, civil engineering and additional land if required. Extra grant is available for electric vehicle recharging points and any refuelling station owned by an SME or in certain remoter parts of the UK.
More detail on this scheme is at the Energy Saving Trust.
Shell Springboard
Annually awards grants of up to £40,000 for UK businesses who submit the most compelling plans for a product or service which helps combat climate change.
www.shellspringboard.org
Investment Funds
Merrill Lynch New Energy Technology Fund www.ml.com
Norwich Union Sustainable Future Funds www.norwichunion.com
Henderson Industries of the Future Fund www.henderson.com
Foresight Sustainable Development Funds www.foresightventurepartners.com
