GRANT INFORMATION FOR RENEWABLE TECHNOLOGIES

What follows is some information on grants that are available for renewable energy technology.

PLEASE NOTE: that whilst I endeavour to keep this section right up to date by the very nature of Grant Information it is nearly always out of date as soon as it is published. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you do not take any of this verbatim but check the relevant websites for up to date information.

New Money for the Low Carbon Buildings Programme

New opportunities for householders, communities and the public sector to install the range of small scale on-site energy technologies and play their part in tackling climate change

BERR Low Carbon Buildings Programme: Phase 1 ( Householders )

If you're a householder interested in generating your own heat or electricity, you can apply online for a grant on the BRE Website http://www.lowcarbonbuildings.org.uk/home/

You can apply for up to £2,500 per property towards the cost of microgeneration technologies including:

• Solar electricity (solar photovoltaic)
• Wind turbines
• Water turbines (small scale hydro)
• Solar hot water
• Ground source heat pumps
• Air source heat pumps
• Wood-fuelled boilers (biomass)
• Automatic pellet-feed wood burning stoves (biomass)

You'll also be able to apply for the following technologies when certified products and installers become available:

• Renewable combined heat and power (CHP)
• Micro CHP
• Fuel cells

What levels of grants will be available?

The current grant levels are as follows and we will regularly review them as the market for each technology develops:

Who can apply for a grant?

Individual property owners including private householders can apply for grants from the programme. 

How will the application process work?

Applications are accepted on a rolling first-come-first-served basis. An outline of the process is as follows:

• Complete the energy efficiency measures required by the programme, obtain planning permission for your installation if necessary and obtain a quote from an accredited installer. 
• Make an application online. 
• After receiving a grant offer letter via email, order the equipment and begin installing the technology. The grant validity period varies by technology. See D.) below for more details.
• After you have completed the installation and you have paid the installer, you can submit the claim documents to the Energy Saving Trust.
• The grant claim is checked and, if in order, the grant will be processed within 25 working days of receipt of all the documentation.
• Applications can be received from properties located within England, Wales, Northern Ireland or Scotland (excluding the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands).

Please note: you should wait until you have received a grant offer letter before commencing the installation.

BERR Low Carbon Buildings Programme: Phase 2 ( Public Buildings ).

Following the Budget announcement on 22 April an additional £45 million has been allocated to the Low Carbon Buildings Programme (LCBP). LCBP Phase Two will receive an additional £35 million of funding. This sees the current programme extend from 1 July 2009 until April 2011 in order to support technologies until the introduction of Feed-in Tariffs and the Renewable Heat Incentive.

£5 million of the £45 million has already been allocated to solar PV funding under Phase Two to deal with the majority of PV applications in the pipeline.

Grants for the installation of microgeneration technologies are available to public sector buildings (including schools, hospitals, housing associations and local authorities) and charitable bodies.

Following the Budget announcement on 22 April an additional £45 million has been allocated to the Low Carbon Buildings Programme (LCBP).

LCBP Phase Two has received an additional £35 million of funding. This is extremely good news and means that we can continue to support schools, communities and other organisations to install microgeneration technology.

This sees the current programme deadline for grants to be made and installations to be completed extend from 1 July 2009 until April 2011, up to the introduction of Feed-in Tariffs and the Renewable Heat Incentive.
£5 million of the £45 million has already been allocated to solar PV funding under Phase Two to deal with the majority of PV applications in the pipeline and we have made a further allocation of £9 million to meet demand.

From 1 July 2009

• The extended programme will continue to provide grant funding to charitable organisations, community groups and the public sector.
• The upper limit for heat technologies has been raised to 300kW.
• Organisations may apply for up to 50% of the cost of installing approved technologies up to a maximum of £200,000 (though maximum grant levels may depend on the nature of the organisation).
• There will be a £9 million pot for solar PV.
• All other technologies will benefit from the remaining £21 million.

The programme is now open to all products and installer companies registered on the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS). In terms of the additional products this also includes Solar Keymark for solar thermal collectors, and the Environmental Technology List (ETA part of the Enhanced Capital Allowance Scheme) for biomass boilers and heat pumps rated above 45kW and up to 300kW thermal.

For further information on products, please refer to:

http://www.microgenerationcertification.org/
www.eca.gov.uk/etl/find
www.estif.org/solarkeymark/productsandcertificates.php

Updates to scheme documents!

Please note that BRE have updated the State Aid section within the scheme documents. We They have also revised the heat pump benchmark calculation as we found there was an error when subtracting the energy yield/heat CO2 figure from the electrical input CO2 figure.

New applications

Applications for Biomass boilers, air and water sourced heat pumps, hydro and wind turbines can be processed now.

If you are have or are planning to apply Photovoltaic, Ground Source Heat Pump and Solar Thermal projects, please note the following:

• There has been a greatly increased application rate over the last few months has meant that applications for Photovoltaic, Ground Source Heat Pump and Solar Thermal projects have been placed on a waiting list. These projects will be processed first before any new applications for these technologies can be assessed. This is in line with our approach to allocate grants on a "first come, first served" basis.
• Your application must be complete (i.e. we can assess the application without having to ask for further details) and the applicant does not want to change any of the project details. This will allow us to process it successfully.

Please click here to see a flow diagram for applications on the waiting list. 

UPDATE ON WAITING LISTS: 

Waiting list of LCBP2 to LCBP2E transfers:

We are in the final stages of assessing any projects left on the waiting list and are anticipating this to be completed around the 16th of October.

Waiting list of new PV, solar thermal and GSHP applications (made on or after 1st July)

Assessments of new applications, where we have received the signed section C, has now started and applicants should expect to hear from us by the 2nd of November. Applications are processed based on the date we receive the signed section C.

Please note that this scheme ends on 30th April 2011. Applications for power generation (electricity) can only be accepted up to March 2010 when Feed-in Tariffs will be introduced. Heating only applications can be made up to April 2011 but applicants should take into account that projects must be completed before this date.

Details of all aspects of the Phase 2 grant application process, suppliers, installers and technologies are available on this website. Application statistics and other information are currently being added and will be made available as soon as possible.

Private householders should refer to Phase 1 for information on grants available to them.

LCBP Phase 2 extended is managed by BRE. If you have any queries that are not answered on this website, please call 08704 23 23 13 or email info@lcbpphase2.org.uk 

LCBP Phase 2 is part of the UK Environmental Transformation Fund (ETF), a joint DECC/Defra fund to bring forward the demonstration and deployment of low carbon energy and energy efficiency technologies. Further information about the ETF is available from their respective websites DECC or Defra.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ECO-ISLAND GO TO: www.greentank.co.uk