LEAF Grant Window Closing, LEEF Finance Still Open for Business
Posted by Lisa Taylor on Fri, Jan 20, 2012
The names may be similar, but what these two finance streams for energy-efficient retrofit really have in common is providing a welcome injection of funding for sustainability programmes – and while one is winding down, the other is still going strong.
LEAF
The Department for Energy and Climate Change’s Local Energy Assessment Fund was announced in December 2011 and offered up a total of £10M in grants for community energy-efficiency projects that can be delivered by March 31st, 2012.
The December round of applications reaped £4M in grants for 82
projects around the UK, ranging from parish council PV projects through carbon assessments to demonstration homes.
The January 20th round is likely to have many more applications for the remaining £6M – winning bids are expected to be announced at the end of the month. Sustainable Homes and partner Parity Projects have helped several housing providers and local authorities submit second-round bids for carbon/retrofit assessment and energy-saving workshops, and we’ll keep you posted on results.
LEEF
The “other” LEEF, the London Energy Efficiency Fund, launched in August 2011 and is a finance pot destined for Greater London projects, whether residential, commercial or institutional. The fund is led by the Greater London Authority, Arup and Royal Bank of Scotland, and is administered by Amber Green.
LEEF’s low finance rates are similar to those available to local authorities and housing providers, but the group differentiates itself from traditional lenders by having ‘expert assessors’ who understand retrofit and may be less risk-averse.
Successful bidders should have high-quality baseline information on their stock, and have well-defined projects lined up. As with LEAF, Sustainable Homes’s CROHM carbon assessment and retrofit planning programme offers an excellent starting point.
LEEF will be holding a drop-in session on Feb 10 at Arup’s London HQ – for information, click here. For more information on CROHM or accredited training courses for staff and contractors, contact us at info@sustainablehomes.co.uk.
