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Funding available for renewable energy projects in Ribble

Community groups in Ribble Valley could qualify for up to £150,000 to fund renewable energy projects.

The Rural Community Energy Fund offers cash for rural communities to develop renewable energy projects providing economic and social benefits.

The funds can be used for feasibility studies and pre-planning development work to help the projects become investment-ready.

Stage 1 provides grants of up to £20,000 for an initial investigation into the feasibility of the project, while Stage 2 provides an unsecured loan of up to £130,000 to support planning applications and develop a robust business case to attract further investment.

Ribble Valley Borough Council leader Stuart Hirst said: “The borough is abundant in natural resources, such as watercourses, and I am sure there are many potential schemes that could qualify for this fund.

“This is a fantastic opportunity that we don’t want to miss and the council is keen to help community groups and projects develop their ideas into bids.”

The fund is available to communities with less than 10,000 residents, or over 10,000, as long as they are predominantly rural, for projects using a commercially recognised renewable energy technology, such as wind turbines, hydropower, solar voltaic or thermal, ground and air source heat pumps or biomass.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Simon Malia .