UCEF - Climate Works

CLIMATE WORKS LTD
Urban Community Energy Fund
2 December 2014
URBAN COMMUNITY
ENERGY FUND (UCEF)
Briefing for Churches & church groups
What is the UCEF?
The Urban Community Energy Fund (UCEF) is a £10m fund to kick-start
renewable energy generation projects in urban communities across England.
Funded by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) the fund is
managed by the Centre for Sustainable Energy and Pure Leapfrog. PV array on St Michael
and All Angels Church
Bedminster, installed
in 2009. http://
stmichaelandallangels.
info
UCEF offers community groups, which include Churches and Church groups, access to grants and loans
to support renewable energy projects. Support is being provided in two parts; project development grants
up to £20,000 and loans of up to £130,000 to develop planning applications and a business case to
attract further investment. The grant and loan are intended to get projects ‘investment ready’.
Briefing for Churches and church groups
www.climate-works.co.uk
1
CLIMATE WORKS LTD
Urban Community Energy Fund
2 December 2014
Why should Churches consider the
UCEF?
Grant funding for Churches to examine the business
case for renewable energy is very limited at present,
and what has been available has been aimed a rural
communities. The UCEF is an opportunity for Churches in towns
and cities to consider a range of renewable energy
technologies in detail. And because the first phase of
funding is a grant, to do this at no risk. What renewables does the UCEF
cover?
-
Wind turbines
-
Hydropower
-
Solar PV
-
Solar thermal
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Air, ground and water source heat pumps
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Anaerobic digestion, biomass (heat only or CHP)
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Low carbon/renewable heat networks
-
Gas combined heat and power (CHP) units
-
Biogas and bioliquids
What size and type of projects are they
looking for?
Fully automated biomass boiler providing heat and
hot water in a residential home for older people in
Cambridge.
There is no minimum size for the projects, but it’s clear from the guidance that the UCEF is aimed at larger
projects. So for Churches this means projects bigger than single installations on Church buildings. But it
does allow for projects which comprise separate installations on say 4 or 5 buildings which could be in
different locations. Projects will need to demonstrate how they will distribute benefits from the project within the local
community i.e. not just within their congregation. There are number ways of doing this, many of which will
build on existing links between Churches and local communities.
What about solar projects?
UCEF expects to receive a lot of solar PV applications so it’s worth considering what they are looking for if
solar is one of the options you are considering. For solar projects DECC want a capacity of at least
75kW(peak). This is the total capacity which could be spread across a number of buildings such as:
-
Multiple roofs with individual small solar installations – e.g. 100 homes getting 2.5kW each
-
Multiple roofs with individual medium solar installations – e.g. 3 churches or schools at 30kW per
school
-
Large-scale on a single roof – e.g. 200kW on a hypermarket roof -
Large-scale ground mounted – e.g. a 1MW solar farm
Briefing for Churches and church groups
www.climate-works.co.uk
2
CLIMATE WORKS LTD
Urban Community Energy Fund
2 December 2014
But remember, solar PV is not the only technology which can be considered, so it is well worth thinking
about other options including linking to onDistrict Heating and CHP networks which are being developed
in a number of urban areas. What can the money be spent on?
In broad terms the grant funding of up to £20,000 can be used for:
-
Professional support in assessing the technical feasibility of the technology
-
Direct costs and professional support for public engagement, and stakeholder engagement with public
bodies and Diocesan Advisory Committees (DACs)
-
Professional support in assessing planning, permitting etc. -
Professional support in assessing the basic financial viability of the project
-
Reasonable costs associate with legal advice, and registration fees for things such as setting up an
incorporated body. How do I know if our Church is ‘urban’?
The Centre for Sustainable Energy has produced a map (http://www.cse.org.uk/information/communitygroups/ucef-map) showing which areas are classed as ‘urban’ for the purposes of this fund. Churches in rural areas can apply to the Rural Community Energy Fund (RCEF)1
How does the loan part of the UCEF work?
For projects which are deemed to be feasible contingent loans of up to £130k are available to cover the
development stage of the project. This means that if your project cannot proceed, for example if technical studies or planning barriers show
that it isn’t going to be possible, then you don’t have to pay the contingent loan back. Successful
community energy projects that make a profit will pay back their UCEF loan plus a premium, currently
45%. The premium is not the same as interest, and will not accumulate over time. For example, if you
borrow £100,000 you would repay £145,000 regardless of how long the loan lasts. The premium is intended to help cover the cost of loans that are
never repaid. It is worth noting that you are not obliged to take on a
UCEF loan if your project is feasible.
What about application deadlines?
The first deadline will be on the 22nd December 2014, but there will
be further deadlines at the end of January, February, and March
2015. Where can I find you more?
We will post regular updates on the UCEF on our website
(www.climate-works.co.uk). You are also welcome to give us a call on 0117 903 0361 for an
informal chat about the UCEF. And you can find out more from the
DECC and CSE websites2.
UCEF and RCEF areas. Churches in grey
areas should apply to the UCEF, those in
green to the RCEF, and those in purple
check to see which fund applies.
1
http://www.wrap.org.uk/content/rural-community-energy-fund
2
https://www.gov.uk/urban-community-energy-fund and http://www.cse.org.uk/news/view/1913
Briefing for Churches and church groups
www.climate-works.co.uk
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