New Government Community Energy Fund

The Local Energy Assessment Fund (LEAF) is designed to provide funding for community groups to carry out energy efficiency assessments and renewable energy feasibility studies.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has launched a new fund for community energy projects.  The Local Energy Assessment Fund (LEAF) is designed to provide funding for community groups to carry out energy efficiency assessments and renewable energy feasibility studies, as well as providing funding to run public meetings, consultation events and publicising the results of those studies.  Average grants are expected to be around £50,000, with a maximum grant of £130,000. 

You'll need to be quick!  The deadline for the first round of applications is noon on the 22nd of December (there's a second closing date on the 31st of January).  Whichever closing date you submit an application for, the funding must be spent by the 31st of March 2012.

ONLY constituted community groups are eligible for this funding (including Parish Councils) - however, if you are a local authority, you can act as an accountable body to receive funding on behalf of or non-constituted community groups who wish to apply in your area. 

To access the full details of the fund, and how to download the application forms, please visit http://www.greencommunitiescc.org.uk/DECCDefault.aspx.

Thanks to Centre for Sustainable Energy for the content