Grants for Commercial Solar
What grants are available for commercial solar and other renewabel energy projects?
Introduction to grants
There are a range of grants that may be available to support businesses making the transition to net zero. Most of these grants are administered at the local level and there is discretion on how they are spent so what is available will depend on where you are in the UK. Typically grants provide matched funding for up to 50% of the projects costs with some areas imposing a cap at around £10,000.
On many solar projects this is enough to make a significant different to the economics of the investment when combined with longer term financing such as that arranged by GreenHearth.
Currently the principal source of grants for investing in renewable projects is the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. (UKSPF). This £2.6bn fund was distributed across the UK and is managed by local councils. The UKSPF is supplemented in some regions by the Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF).
We have found that generally the best information on what is available in a particular area is to be found on district council websites or local government equivalent for the projects location.
How can GreenHearth help?
In our experience most grant giving bodies prefer to deal with the business directly so we don’t offer to run this process for you, but we can assist with identifying grants, technical support for specific questions and arrange funding for the costs of the project which are not funded by a grant.
Sources of Grants
UK Shared Prosperity Fund
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund was established by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities in 2022 to succeed the old EU structural funds and will continue to fund projects until March 2025.
The UKSPF has been established to invest in three local priorities; communities and place, support for local businesses and people and skills within the overarching objective of Building pride in place and increasing life chances.
Within the supporting local business investment priority, the UKSPF prospectus identifies “Increasing private sector investment in growth-enhancing activities, through targeted support for small and medium-sized businesses to undertake new-to-firm innovation, adopt productivity-enhancing, energy efficient and low carbon technologies and techniques, and start or grow their exports” as one of the three core objectives.
Local leaders have wide discretion as to how they manage the investment of funds within the framework leading some areas to provide significant support for Solar PV investments and other to priorities different objectives. The lead local authority with responsibility for managing the fund in its area are listed in the Guidance on Delivery Geographies in the fund’s prospectus and it is usually at this level that it is possible to find out how the relevant local authority plans to make use of the funds allocated to it.
The amount each lead local authority has been granted for capital projects for the current year is set out in UKSPF grant determination (capital) England 2023-34
The area covered by each of these lead local authorities can be found on the OS Map of UK Boundaries.
The full fund prospectus can be found on Gov.uk under the UK Shared Prosperity Fund: prospectus and the target Objectives, Outcomes and Outputs are also detailed on the same site.
Rural England Prosperity Fund
The Rural England Prosperity Fund is managed alongside the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and supports additional activities in areas of rural England.
The full fund prospectus can be found on Gov.uk under the Rural England Prosperity Fund: prospectus
Other sources of grants
In addition to local government sites information on grants can sometimes be found through:
The Local Enterprise Partnership Network of 38 local Growth Hubs.
The Government site on business finance support also lists over 120 grant schemes the majority of which will not be relevant for renewable investment projects, but this source may also be worth checking.
UK Gov Business Finance Support
The British Business Bank has published a detailed guide on general business grants which provides useful background information
Applying for Grants
One of the objectives of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund was to reduce complexity and keep decision making at a local level. As a result, the application process tends to be relatively straight forward but will vary from area to area.
As with any application there are a couple of key points to bear in mind
Research thoroughly – make sure you have read and understood the objectives that the grant is seeking achieve so your application can be tailored to these insights.
Apply early – The amount of funds in the grant pool is limited so applying early can make a significant difference to the likelihood of success and the amount of grant available.
Clarity is king – Avoid technical jargon, answer all the questions and meet any deadlines.
Manage the timetable – Many providers will require you to undertake a decarbonisation study as part of the application process. These are usually free but may take around a month to complete.
The exact information required will depend on the authority making the grant, but the following general sections occur in most applications.
Business Information: Provide details about your business activities, size, and insurance coverage.
Project Details: Describe the project, its requirements and aims
Costs and Finance: Outline the total project costs the source of any match funding requirements. Explain why other financial options were not chosen and provide quotes from three installers.
Permissions and Licences: Confirm all the necessary permissions and licences are held.
Priorities and Justification: Explain how the project aligns with the goals of the grant scheme.
Legal Declarations: Confirm you have read and agreed to the legal terms including those relating to any advertising of the project.
Guides for commercial solar grants in your area
In conclusion
The availability of grants varies across the country and the best place to check is your local council web site. Our Grant Guides to each region has more specific information but you can always contact us for further details.
You can find out more information about commercial solar by reviewing our other Guides to Commercial Solar.