Low carbon Dorset – grants and advice

by Elliot Bennett – [email protected]

As someone who works with business clients in the Dorset area and as a member of PKF Francis Clark’s Green Team I was doubly interested in seeing the Low Carbon Dorset scheme is back in funds..

I have shared overview details below which I hope you find of use, and more information is available at https://www.lowcarbondorset.org.uk/

The scheme

Low Carbon Dorset was set up by Dorset Council, and is now part-funded by the UK Government through  The UK Shared Prosperity Fund, and provides free technical advice and grants to local business, community and public-sector organisations to help improve their energy efficiency and increase the use of renewable energy.

Since the launch in April 2018, the scheme has given out 210 grants worth over £6m and has provided free advice to over 550 Dorset based organisations. This support has helped save just over 16,000 tonnes of CO2 a year and generate nearly 13MW of renewable energy in Dorset.

Running until March 2025 they hope to help further reduce emissions, support the installation of more renewable energy, and continue to provide valuable free advice to organisations in Dorset.

The support available

Three aspects to the support available:

• Free technical advice – on-site technical support to explore your low carbon project ideas and opportunities (up to two days). Followed by on-going support to get your project off the ground
• Free detailed energy survey– if required they can provide a free detailed energy audit of your operations
• Low carbon grants– grants are available for up to 50% of your low carbon project costs (between £1,000 and £75,000)

Eligibility criteria

To access any of the support listed above your organisation must be located within the Dorset Council area and must be one of the following:

• A small or medium sized enterprise (SME)
• A legally constituted voluntary or community organisation or a registered charity
• A public-sector organisation

What can the grants be used for?

These grants can be used towards costs relating to the installation of energy efficiency and/or renewable energy measures, this includes:

• Contractors and consultants
• Equipment and machinery
• Installation, commissioning and associated works

There are a number of case studies accessible on the schemes webpage – to give you an idea of the type of project that could be funded.

More information and application process

There is a lot of additional information available at https://www.lowcarbondorset.org.uk/ and I would encourage all businesses based in the region to check out the resources available, even if you don’t currently have a project in mind.

Application process appears to start with an expression of interest – https://www.lowcarbondorset.org.uk/application-form-for-businesses/.

PKF Francis Clark

I will continue to keep up-to-date on grants for SMEs in the Dorset area and let you know about it, but I would suggest all SMEs based in Dorset sign up and keep an eye on websites such as Dorset Council, Dorset LEP and Dorset Growth Hub for news of grants.