£10M Urban Community Energy Fund Launches
Today is the day that CSE and community groups up and down England have been waiting for: the launch of DECC’s £10 million Urban Community Energy Fund (UCEF).
UCEF will give community groups in England the opportunity to bid for grants of up to £20,000, or loans of up to £130,000 to help kick-start their projects. Successful projects will pay back their loans, thus allowing the fund to be replenished.
The fund is being administered by a partnership between CSE and Pure Leapfrog – a charity that has supported over 100 community projects with either finance or investment readiness support.
“This is a great step forward” said CSE’s Chief Executive, Simon Roberts. 'UCEF provides the opportunity for community groups to break through the financial barriers to developing renewable energy projects at a meaningful scale. There are still plenty of challenges for community groups to overcome, but this fund enables them to access and pay for the professional expertise they need to succeed.'
The fund was launched by Secretary of State Ed Davey at Harvey’s Brewery in Lewes, West Sussex, the roof of which bristles with solar PV, part of a project with community energy pioneers, Ovesco. He said: 'This is all about investing in renewable energy sources, creating jobs and changing the way renewable energy is developed in the UK.'
Pure Leapfrog’s Chief Executive, Robert Rabinowitz, said 'UCEF comes at a great time for the community energy sector, helping to plug a much needed gap in the project development phase.'
Community-owned solar PV array on Knowle West Media Centre, Bristol
UCEF is a counterpart to the Rural Community Energy Fund (RCEF) launched in summer 2013. Between the two, a project anywhere in England could be eligible for finance. Large grants and loans will be available to encourage projects of scale and ambition. Grants will support projects through the more speculative, early stages of development. Subsequent loans are available for development to the stage where a project is ‘investment ready’.
Eligibility
To be eligible to apply for UCEF funding a group needs to meet certain criteria. The first of these is location: whether the project is based in an urban area, as defined by the Office of National Statistics.
CSE have produced a map that will tell you if your project is urban or rural and, therefore, if you need to apply to the urban or rural fund.
Beyond location, there are also questions such as 'Is your community group incorporated?' that you will need to answer to find out if you're project is eligible for UCEF funding. You can download the eligibility checker.
If you have any questions, give UCEF a call on 0800 038 6345.
For projects that appear to be eligible, it is recommended all groups contact UCEF directly, to discuss their proposals and for help producing the strongest application possible.
To contact UCEF, call 0800 038 6345 or email info@ucef.org.uk.
More information: www.cse.org.uk/news/view/1913
Renewables Future Conference
Groups may be interested in attending the Renewable Futures conference in Bath on 25 November organised by Regen SW. Community Energy representatives are invited to book at a discounted ticket of just £30 + VAT [reduced from £245 + VAT]. To register your interest please email Jodiejsawatzki@regensw.co.uk or book online here using the code ‘communitydiscount’. There will be expert talks and an exhibition of over 35 renewable energy and energy efficiency companies from across the south west for you to meet. The UCEF team will also be there to answer any questions you have.