Great British Energy Community Fund Offers £140,000 for Community Energy Projects

Funding of up to £140,000 is available to help parish and town councils, community organisations, faith groups, community interest companies and even sports teams get started on clean power projects.

The Great British Energy Community Fund is the first community energy grant programme launched by Great British Energy – the newly-created publicly-owned energy company. The fund is now open for applications.

GBECF will be managed locally by the North East and Yorkshire Net Zero Hub. Designed to help community groups produce power where it is needed and which local people benefit from and to contribute to the government’s mission of increasing renewable energy generation, two grants are available. 

  • Stage 1 – Feasibility Grant: For those communities at an early stage of exploring a renewable energy project this stage offers grants of up to a maximum of £40,000 to cover consultancy and professional costs for the development of a feasibility study.   
  • Stage 2 – Development Grant: For projects which demonstrate a good chance of securing planning permission and being implemented, the Hub will consider further development funding of up to £100,000 to enable more detailed investigation, including:
    • Investigation of possible purchase of land (legal fees for example),
    • Environmental impact assessments,
    • Submission of planning applications and permitting applications
    • Development a full investment business plan. 

Applications will be independently assessed, and it is anticipated that the number of applications will exceed the funding available in the North East and Yorkshire.

The window for applications is open until November 12th 2025.

The following types or organisation can apply.

  • Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO)
  • Community Benefit Society (CBS or Bencom)
  • Community Interest Company (CIC)
  • Co-operative Society
  • Development Trust
  • Pre-Commencement Society
  • Registered Charity (including eligible faith groups, sports clubs, etc.)
  • Registered Social Landlord (see paragraph below on local authorities)
  • Registered Society
  • Town or Parish Council

Feasibility studies exploring the following technologies are eligible for funding:

  • Anaerobic digestion
  • Biogas heat network
  • Bio liquids/gas/fuels
  • Biomass heat network
  • Electric vehicle infrastructure (publicly available, incorporating generation/storage)
  • Heat pumps
  • Heat pump-fed heat networks (e.g., heat zoning for a village)
  • Hydropower
  • Solar (photo voltaic)
  • Solar (thermal)
  • Wind power
  • Battery storage

Technologies NOT on this list will be considered on a case-by-case basis and you should contact the North East and Yorkshire Net Zero Hub for advice before applying.

Full details, application forms and inspiration from community groups who have previously received grants from funds managed by the North East and Yorkshire Net Zero Hub can be found here.

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You will receive a VAC Member welcome pack with useful information on getting the most out of your membership and a few extra treats!

Every member of VAC will be invited to our Annual General Meeting (AGM) and has voting rights for resolutions and proposals either in person or by proxy.

When you sign up to be a VAC Member, you will be assigned a Go-To Contact from the VAC team.

They will be your main point of contact for your membership, helping to answer questions and signposting you to the right place within VAC and/or our partnerships.

We want the VAC membership offer to be responsive to the needs of our members.  Member check ins keep us up to date on your organisation’s news and developments but also on any challenges or support gaps that may be affecting the VCSE sector. 

The information we receive during our member check ins will highlight trends and challenges that we can then explore support and solutions for via our membership offer and partnerships with local providers and authorities.

To support VAC members to feel connected and informed, we have created a unique Member Area on the VAC Website.

The online dashboard will keep you and your colleagues up to date on the latest member opportunities, training and news.

The Member Area also has a forum function, allowing VAC Member organisations to interact and support each other.

A quarterly newsletter to keep our members up to date on not only VAC Membership updates and opportunities but also specifically created content on topics of interest to the local voluntary, community and social enterprise sector. 

The Bimonthly Member Network is for VAC Members to connect with other VAC Members!

A perfect opportunity to support one another, find out about other local services and explore new collaborative opportunities and partnerships with fellow VAC members.

20% Discount on VAC Room Hire – We offer a range of flexible rooms for hire located in Halifax, West Yorkshire. Our rooms include a fully equipped, large training room with SMART board and flipchart facilities seating up to 25 theatre style, two smaller meeting rooms seating up to 12 and a small office with computer facilities suitable for one-to-one meetings or rent-a-desk.

Competitive rate on ID Badge Printing – Competitively priced to accommodate for smaller orders, our in-house ID Badge service supports both design and printing.

Based on feedback and insight we gain from our members, our training and events offer will complement local infrastructure support training programmes.

All sessions are cost effective and VCSE sector driven.