Marches Energy Grant
The Marches Energy Grant (MEG) offers free advice, energy assessments and grants for energy efficiency and renewable energy measures to SMEs from all sectors in Herefordshire, Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin. The funding is also available to support community buildings. As well as the grant funding, the project will also run related networking and webinar events for SMEs and other organisations.
The MEG project builds on the success of previous programmes such as the Marches Renewable Energy (MarRE) fund and the Business Energy Efficiency Project (BEEP) grant scheme. It is intended that the MEG project complements the Cool Shropshire & Telford platform and Herefordshire’s 30 for 2030.
Assessments are for SMEs who wish to use their energy more efficiently, reducing costs and improving environmental credentials. Grants worth up to £20,000 are available for eligible businesses. Up to £100,000 in match funded grant is also available to eligible businesses implementing eligible energy efficiency measures through the pilot Business Energy Advice Service fund (this excludes renewable energy projects).
To be eligible for the programme you must be:
How will it work?
Step 1:
A free assessment offering to assess your energy usage, equipment, premises, processes and performance to find opportunities for improvements in energy efficiency. The scale of the assessment will vary according to need. The assistance could range from 2hrs desktop advice for very simple proposals, through to a deep-dive, 35 hour assist for complex or large sites.Step 2:
Following the assessment, you will be sent a report containing recommended actions. You may then have the opportunity to apply for a grant for eligible projects worth up to £20,000 (renewables) or £100,000 (energy efficiency). The grant intervention rate is up to 40% and your business contribution is a minimum of 60% for the project. For example, if your project costs are £30,000, your contribution is £18,000 minimum and we provide £12,000 maximum.Step 3:
If your application is successful, we will require you to sign an agreement detailing the grant conditions. Once signed and returned you can carry out the approved activities.Step 4:
We will monitor your project to ensure that it is on track.Past EU Funded Programmes
The MEG replaces a number of previous EU funded schemes, which have helped to identify potential financial savings of £1.8M, install over 2MW of renewable energy generation, and saved around 4,500tonnes of CO2e emissions from the Marches region. These have seen a wide range of projects, including:
How to apply