The second round of the Mayor’s London Community Energy Fund is open for applications!
To support community projects involved in producing energy locally and helping to reduce energy use, the Mayor of London created the London Community Energy Fund in 2017.
The first phase of the London Community Energy Fund supported the development of community solar energy projects (solar photovoltaics and solar thermal). The Mayor’s Solar Action Plan outlines his approach to putting London on track to achieving 2 gigawatts (GW) of installed solar capacity by 2050. Community projects make an important contribution to the Mayor’s aims to supply the capital with more local clean energy and his target to make London a zero carbon city by 2050.
About the funding
The London Community Energy Fund 2018/19 will again offer grants of up to £15,000. These can be used to support the development stages of a wide range of community energy projects, including both clean generation and energy demand reduction. Funding could be used, for example, to carry out preliminary viability studies or develop a financial business case. Applications are welcomed from community energy projects requiring funding to get ready to be financed and ‘investor ready’.
Solar PV projects
The national Feed-in Tariff (FiT) is due to close to new applicants from April 2019 and so groups considering solar PV projects are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. Funding will be allocated on a first-come first-served basis for solar projects aiming to utilise the national (FiT) before it is closed to new registrants.
Who is eligible?
The London Community Energy Fund is open to London-based community groups. To apply please read the prospectus and submit the relevant application form (there are two application forms for this round of funding):
Solar PV projects (relying on the FiT) should use application form 1 (solar “fast-track”). The allocation of funding will be based on a ‘first-come first-served’ basis where applications will be assessed individually as soon as they are received. Applications that meet the funding criteria will be offered a grant to enable the community group to start development work as soon as possible so that solar panels are registered or pre-registered for the FiT by 31 March 2019.
All other projects (including solar projects) that are not reliant on the FiT should use application form 2. This will involve a competitive assessment process whereby all applications received by the deadline will be assessed and scored by a panel of experts.
The deadline for applications to be received is 2 November 2018 at 5pm. Timescales are covered in more detail in the Prospectus.
