The Rural Community Energy Fund (RCEF) is giving £15m to help boost schemes outside urban areas.
The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has launched a £15 million fund to help rural communities in England access renewable energy. The Rural Community Energy Fund (RCEF) assists rural communities in carrying out feasibility studies into renewable energy projects, and in paying the costs associated with applying for planning permission. After this point, projects should be able to attract private finance to pay for renewable energy kit and get projects up and running.
Funding can be used to support rural projects in a range of renewable and low carbon energy technologies, including wind, solar, biomass, heat pumps, anaerobic digestion, gas combined heat and power, and hydro.
The fund’s support comes as:
· a grant of up to £20,000 for feasibility studies
· a loan worth up to around £130,000 to help with project costs, such as seeking planning permission and environmental permits.
Interested communities can apply for the RCEF via the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), the scheme administrator.
For the RECF see: LINK
building4change.com article: LINK
