Somerset Green Business Grants are available to support Somerset micro and SME businesses – up to 250 employees – to take forward measures to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions.
Grants of between £2,500 and £25,000 are available. The grant can fund up to 50 percent of total eligible project costs, with the remainder funded by the applicant. Grants can be capital or revenue. This grant scheme is funded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
The closing date for full applications is 31 October 2023. Decisions and funding agreements are expected to be in place by the end of November 2023. Projects will need to be completed within the financial year, by 31 March 2024.
We expect further grant opportunities for similar project activity to be announced in early 2024.
The grant application process is in 2 stages, an initial Eligibility Check followed by a Full Application with supporting evidence, including an externally endorsed Plan that should include a carbon and energy baseline and actions to reduce carbon emissions.
The grant scheme provides funding to businesses to:
• increase energy efficiencies and reduce energy costs
• decarbonise business practice, process and supply chains
• the ‘greening’ of work practices and staff behavioural and cultural change.
Examples of eligible activity include, but are not limited to:
- LED lighting and lighting controls
- Boilers, heating plant, equipment and batteries (power generation)
- Heating and cooling controls
- Specialist energy efficient equipment (for example, manufacturing tools)
- Increased energy efficient equipment (for example, refrigeration)
- Heat recovery systems
- Solar installations, wind turbine, heat pumps
- Electric Vehicle (EV) infrastructure, that is, charging points, batteries, forklifts, lifting machinery
- Smart Energy Monitoring Systems
- Associated upskilling and green skilling of new or existing staff.
Staff costs and EV’s are not eligible under this funding scheme.
See the Somerset Green Business Grant pages here for more information.
