Kirklees RE-charge Grant Aims To Overcome MicroGeneration Objections
October 10, 2008
The recent “Growth Potential for Microgeneration in England Wales and Scotland” report pointed out that:
Consumers place a very low value on ongoing energy costs compared with up-front capital
costs. This presents a considerable barrier for microgeneration technologies which are
characterised by high up-front costs with low on-going costs.
A new pilot scheme being run by Kirklees council aims to overcome this barrier by providing interest free loans of upto £10,000 to householders in Kirklees to install renewable and low carbon technologies on their property. The loans are available for a specific set of technologies:
Solar Thermal Panels
Solar PV Panels
Air Source & Ground source heat pumps
microCHP
Biomass
Hydroelectric
The council is providing advice to applicants on the most suitable solutions for their situation.
The loans are secured against the property and must be repaid when the property is sold. Called the RE-charge scheme, Kirklees claim it is the first of its kind in the country. The grants are in addition to the Low Carbon Building Program (LCBP) which offers grants to householders to assist with the cost of installing renewable and low carbon technologies.
The scheme was launched on 18th August this year and is to be publicised more widely in the next few weeks. The accompanying letter states that ‘Limited Funds are available and there has been a high volume of interest. You are advised to apply asap to avoid disappointment’.
There doesn’t seem to be anything on the Kirkless website yet, but if you don’t want to wait, then I’ve uploaded a copy online of the Re-Charge Information for Applicants
kirklees-re-charge-grants-1
To apply, contact enquiries@energy-help.org.uk or call 0800 052 7496
Posted in grants
December 3rd, 2008 at 12:26 am
You may have noticed that the ReCharge Grant Application form doesn’t list water source heat pumps as an option however I’ve just found out today that he grants are available for this technology - just add an additional check box to the form marked ‘water source heat pump’