Note: As of 2019, this grant has now ended.

If you’re concerned about the potential cost of your solar panels – good news! You needn’t be. Our website details several ways to pay, and if you’re a Small-to-Medium sized business Enterprise (SME), the good news doesn’t stop there. Low Carbon Energy are a Carbon Trust Partner, which means that we can get you access to the Energy Efficiency Grant for SMEs. Let us explain a bit about it.

What Is The Energy Efficiency Grant?

Basically, it’s a scheme designed to encourage SMEs (just like yours) to become greener. A total of £7m has been made available for the grant to achieve this, and it’s been enthusiastically doing so since the scheme officially launched in June last year. As well as the financial support the scheme also provides advice and consultation from energy experts (just like us!), helping your business to become more efficient. You may be eligible for one or several of these business energy services, depending on the size and output of your business.

What Are The Components Of The Energy Efficiency Grant?

1. Financial Contribution

We’ve mentioned this a bit already; it can mean a contribution from the grant of up to £10,000 (or 30% of the cost) towards your new solar panel system. So whether you’ve got your eye on a new and efficient lighting system for your warehouse, temperature control for your offices, or a new production line system for your factory, you can have the funding to make it a reality. The minimum size of the project needs to be £2,500, and you’ll need to make sure your supplier is properly accredited. That’s us, and we are. You’re a step ahead already!

2. Energy Opportunity Assessment

This service can be performed over the phone, via email or in person on-site. An accredited professional evaluates your current energy setup, and helps you to identify where savings can be made. If your energy spend is over £50,000, you can also benefit from expert advice on implementing an energy saving policy and engaging your employees.

3. Implementation Advice

Meanwhile, this service is designed to support businesses with a particular energy saving project in mind – for example, becoming more energy efficient with your lighting. You can get up to five full days of support (if necessary) from an expert, who can write up the unique performance specifications of your business, helping you determine how to set up and optimise your solar equipment.

4. Other Services

There are other, smaller services available too. For example, the grant funds workshops by expert speakers tailored towards smaller companies (those with fewer than 50 employees). There are also energy efficient webinars taken online that can improve the ability of existing equipment, again helping you shape your company to become greener and more environmentally friendly.

Sound Good? Here’s How To Get Started

At Low Carbon Energy, we think that’s all fantastic – and as we said above, it doesn’t hurt that we’re one of the Carbon Trust’s delivery partners for the North West.

In the meantime if you have any questions or you need any advice, you can always call us on 08456 808 963. We’re here to help!

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter: @LowCarbonEnCo