Energy Resilience Fund

• Looking to install energy saving measures or generation technology to buildings/ land (including new builds), and/ or to purchase energy efficient or environmentally friendly vehicles or equipment. 
• Incorporated voluntary, community or social enterprise organisation*. 
• Based in England and serving communities primarily within England. 
• Constituted for social benefit and improving people’s lives or the environments they live in. 
• A minimum of 2 years’ operating activity. 
• A minimum turnover of £100k in your last set of end of year accounts. 
• Does your organisation have less than 250 employees and an annual turnover not exceeding £40m and an annual balance sheet total not exceeding £35m
• Unable to access mainstream bank lending for this purpose. 
• Not subject to any insolvency proceedings.
• Have a viable borrowing proposal.
• Freehold ownership or a suitable written lease agreement with a minimum of 12 years remaining on it if you are applying to install energy saving/ generating measures to buildings/ land
• This application and the taking on of loan finance is supported by your senior decision makers.
• Vehicles/ equipment (any non-property related assets) should be intended to be purchased and owned by the applicant organisation and to therefore sit on the financial balance sheet of the applicant organisation

The funds cannot be used for: 

• Refinancing except in exceptional circumstances.
• Costs that have already been incurred. Retrospective funding is not permitted, the ERF can only be used for future purchases or projects that have not yet been paid for.
• Community energy or heating generation projects such as district heat networks, solar or wind farms or large hydro power projects, or nuclear energy and/or where the primary purpose is to sell the energy to a 3rd party. Note – this does not prevent ERF funding an organisation from implementing an energy generating measure on their land rather than their building, but the primary purpose has to be to supply energy to their own building.
• Community energy organisations that bring groups of people or organisations together to purchase, manage, generate, or reduce consumption of energy.
• Hybrid Electric Vehicles that cannot be plugged into the mains as the engine is still the main power source. For clarity Plug in Hybrid Vehicles (PHEVS) are eligible.
• Facilities primarily for statutory services e.g. hospitals, state funded primary or secondary schools, universities etc.
• Buildings or sections of them used primarily for political campaigning.
• Buildings or sections of them used for worship/ furtherance of faith, unless:

1. >50% of activity/usage of the building is for community services, and the
2. Energy efficiency measures being funded benefit the areas of the building used primarily for community services.

* Must be registered as a Charity, Community Interest Company or Community Benefit Society. If registered as any other legal entity, it must have a social object, asset lock and restriction on profit distribution (must distribute less than 50% of post-tax profits) written into its governing documents. 

See the FAQs below for a list of exclusions.

Energy Audit Support 

If you would like to apply to install energy saving/ generating measures to buildings/ land, and you don’t already have a suitable Independent Energy Assessment, we will refer you to one of the funds approved Energy Audit Suppliers for one to be carried out and paid for by the fund (subject to fund eligibility).  

Note: Receipt of an Independent Energy Assessment from the fund does not guarantee you will receive the below funding. This will be subject to a full assessment of the organisation and the funding request.   

Support from the Centre for Sustainable Energy

If you would like to apply to install energy saving/ generating measures to buildings/ land, once you have your Independent Energy Assessment, you can access support from the Centre for Sustainable Energy to help ensure you have a well thought through and sufficiently developed funding request, including a clear list of items you would like the funding for and the necessary quotes, permissions and consents, and project plans in place (subject to fund eligibility).

Funding