Rural Energy Fund £15m available

A £15m government fund has opened for applications from rural communities who want to generate their own green power.

The Rural Community Energy Fund aims to help rural communities access the money needed to carry out feasibility studies into renewable energy projects. It also helps fund the costs associated with applying for planning permission. In doing so, the government intends that projects will then be able to attract private finance to pay for renewable energy kit and get projects up and running.

Rural energy projects eligible for funding including wind, solar, biomass, heat pumps, anaerobic digestion, gas Combined Heat and Power (CHP) and hydro. 

The fund is being delivered on behalf of the government by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP).

Funding is offered in two stages:

• a grant up to £20,000 for feasibility studies into renewable energy projects in local areas
• once the studies have been completed, communities can then apply for a loan worth up to £130,000 to help with project costs, planning permission and environmental permits. The loan is repayable once projects have received the necessary private sector funding required to get them up and running.