RURAL COMMUNITY ENERGY FUND

The Rural Community Energy Fund (RCEF) provides grants to cover feasibility studies and development costs for community renewable energy projects in rural areas. The deadline for the next round is here.

Grants of up to £40,000 are available at the feasibility stage. Further development funding of £100,000 is on offer for projects with a high chance of success.

TYPES OF PROJECTS

To apply, you must be planning the installation of a renewable or low carbon energy facility. Examples of technologies which may be considered for funding include:

Anaerobic digestion (AD)
AD (biogas) fuelled heat network
Bio liquids/gas/fuels

Biomass heat network
Heat pumps
Hydropower
Solar (photo voltaic)

Solar (thermal)
Wind turbines
Multi-technology approaches

See the News section for some examples of projects which have recently been awarded funding.

Energy efficiency, storage, grid services and demand management can be considered in bundled approaches on a case-by-case basis.

ELIGIBILITY

Funding support is available to rural community organisations in England. To check if the postcode of your project is based in a rural area use the Defra Magic Map, following the instructions in the user guide.

To find out if your organisation is eligible, and for general guidance on applying, please download the RCEF guidance note.

HOW THE FUNDING CAN BE USED

Stage 1 – Feasibility grant

For communities at an early stage of exploring the possibility of a renewable energy project
Grants of up to a maximum of £40,000
Can be used for consultancy and professional costs for the development of a feasibility report in a standard format for a specific project
Must be early stage activities without which the installations would not be able to go ahead

Stage 2 – Full business development and planning grant

For projects that demonstrate a good chance of securing planning permission and being implemented
Grants of up to £100,000
Intended for more detailed investigation into the key areas of technology selection
Can be used for securing a site (e.g. legal fees), environmental impact assessments, submitting planning applications, permitting applications and developing a full investment business plan.
Cannot be used for capital investment

How to apply

Read the RCEF guidance note and look up the location on the Magic Map to check your organisation and project are eligible
Discuss your proposal with the South West RCEF project manager
Submit a pre-application questionnaire for review by the RCEF project manager
If you decide to proceed with a full application for stage 1 funding, check the assessment criteria before completing an application form
For further development funding applications see the stage 2 guidance notes and application form