The £8 million scheme aims to provide communities with the opportunity to cost-effectively organise local buying groups for renewable heating systems, potentially accessing bulk discounts and facilitating easier deployment for installers. DECC estimates that community groups could receive around £5,000 to work up a project idea and develop a business plan, in addition to grants of up to £6,000 for each household installing a renewable heating system.
The scheme is targeted at making renewable heating affordable for middle to low income households, which will be measured using the Index of Multiple Deprivation, and for those areas with high carbon heating systems that are expensive to run (especially those off the gas network).
Technologies that are supported under the scheme include:
• Solar thermal panels
• Heat pumps (air to water, ground source or water source, excluding air to air and exhaust air heat pumps)
• Biomass Boilers.
There is a tight and challenging time scale for the competition:
Stage 1: submit applications (24 July to 7 September)
Stage 2: community project development for successful Stage 1 applicants (late September to 16 November)
Stage 3: project delivery for successful projects (December to March 2013).
For more information visit the EST website (http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Generate-your-own-energy/Financial-incentives/Renewable-Heat-Premium-Payment-Phase-2) or see the attached documents.
Regen SW would like to see as many community groups as possible receive this new source of funding and to help identify innovative and cost-effective ways of delivering renewable heat systems to homes across the region. The company says it can support you to identify the most appropriate model for your community (whether that’s a small-scale buying club or a larger social enterprise), as well as the most appropriate technologies. It can also provide access to numerous suppliers to ensure you get the best value for money.