Small business energy loan and cashback
Interest-free loans with cashback grants for small and medium-sized Scottish businesses to install energy-saving equipment, insulation and renewable heating.
Denne finansieringsmulighed er i øjeblikket beskrevet på engelsk.
The SME Loan Scheme offers loans up to £100,000 for improvements such as LED lighting, insulation, heating controls and heat pumps. You repay the loan over eight years, or a shorter period on request, with no interest. You must pass credit and affordability checks.
A cashback grant can cover 75% of eligible costs, with separate limits of £20,000 for energy-efficiency improvements and £10,000 for renewable heating such as air-, ground- or water-source heat pumps, biomass boilers and solar thermal systems. The combined cashback limit is £30,000 per business across previous and current applications. You can only get the grant alongside a loan—not on its own. Total funding across loan and grant applications cannot exceed £130,000; the minimum funding request is £1,000.
Some technologies, including wind turbines, receive loan funding only, not cashback. New solar electricity (PV) applications and second-hand equipment are excluded. Batteries, gas heating systems and gas connections receive no cashback.
Eligibility
- Your business, charity or not-for-profit organisation must be based in Scotland and have traded for at least 12 months. It must have fewer than 250 full-time-equivalent employees, and turnover no higher than €50 million and/or a balance-sheet total no higher than €43 million, calculated under the scheme's European Commission SME definition. Other enterprises must own less than 25% of your organisation, and your organisation must hold less than 25% in any other enterprise. The award must comply with the Subsidy Control Act 2022, which governs public subsidies to businesses. A change of business type within the past year, such as moving from a partnership to a limited company, does not automatically rule you out; your Business Energy Advisor can explain the supporting information needed.
- You must be able to provide annual accounts if requested. Charities and nonprofits need constitutional permission to borrow and their three most recent year-end accounts. Private-sector landlords and commercial boats are excluded. Residential areas cannot be funded; for mixed domestic/business properties, funding is proportionate to business energy use and you must provide evidence of the split.
- The work must be recommended in a qualifying Business Energy Scotland report. It must save money and at least 0.1 tonnes of carbon-dioxide equivalent emissions a year. The estimated time for savings to recover the cost must be 20 years or less, using the quoted cost minus eligible cashback and the report's savings estimate. A package of measures that depend on each other, such as heating and insulation or lighting and its controls, can qualify if its combined recovery period is under 20 years, even if an individual measure takes longer.
- You cannot use the scheme to sell heat or energy to third parties, or for an electricity-generating system that the report expects to make your site send out more electricity than it takes in over a year. You cannot use funding to pay off another loan or finance agreement. Movable equipment must remain the business's property until the loan is fully repaid.
- For a heating installation, install any loft and cavity-wall insulation recommended in the report, either beforehand or using this funding. Renewable products and installers normally need Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) certification. This does not apply above 45 kW for renewable heat or above 50 kW for renewable electricity. For heat pumps that also provide cooling, certification is recommended, not mandatory. An installer seeking certification may use your installation to qualify, but extra evidence is required and full funding depends on the MCS certificate.
- For new builds and extensions, funding covers only the extra cost of better-performing measures over standard measures, not the full installation cost. Supply the building warrant; similar restrictions can apply to change-of-use and renovation work required by a warrant. If you install equipment yourself, only materials—not your own labour—can be funded.
- Cashback cannot be combined with another Scottish Government grant for the same measure. It also cannot be combined with Renewable Heat Incentive support for the same renewable-heat installation. If your site is off the gas network and the report recommends renewable heating, upgrading to a conventional electric boiler receives no cashback.
How to apply
- Status
- Løbende ansøgning
- Vilkår for ansøgningsrunden
- Applications are processed year-round, subject to available loan funds. Cashback is first-come, first-served and subject to availability.[^c30][^c31]
- Start with Business Energy Scotland on 0808 808 2268 to obtain a free, impartial report recommending your proposed improvements. If you already have a suitable report, contact the service for referral. Reports can support applications for four years; after two years an adviser must check for significant changes. The report is not a funding offer.
- Tell your Business Energy Advisor you want to apply. They request access to the online portal run by Energy Saving Trust, which assesses the application, creditworthiness and payment. Submit quotes for all work; for any measure requesting more than £25,000, supply two quotes and explain if you choose the more expensive installer. Include proof of identity and address, and written landlord permission for rented premises.
- The applicant must be authorised to enter into the loan agreement for the organisation. A sole trader or one of the partners must submit the application, sign all future documents and complete identity checks; a hard personal credit check is made for each application. For a limited company, a director or officer listed at Companies House should submit the application, and that same person must complete all future documents and identity checks. A third party can be authorised to manage the process, not replace the responsible borrower or signatory. If the person submitting the company's application is not listed at Companies House, provide a letter confirming their authority to manage the process. Charities and nonprofits use someone responsible for their legal matters, such as a trustee or treasurer.
- Do not start work, pay deposits or buy goods or services for the improvement before the written loan offer. An offer is valid for six months to complete the work and claim; an extension can be requested.
- Claim through the portal after installation and invoicing, with any required evidence or inspection. Loan and cashback are paid after this stage. You may request up to 25% of the offered funding as an upfront loan payment if the supplier quote or partial/deposit invoice requests early payment. It is not automatic, and cashback cannot be paid upfront.