Local authority low-carbon heat grant
Grants cover up to 90% of capital costs for Welsh local authorities replacing fossil-fuel heating in their non-domestic buildings.
Denne finansieringsmulighed er i øjeblikket beskrevet på engelsk.
The grant supports ready-to-deliver heating retrofits, including heat pumps, heat distribution and radiator upgrades, thermal storage, draught-proofing and building insulation, and electricity network connection or capacity upgrades. Electric boilers are eligible only for top-up or backup heat. Biomass is eligible where heat pumps are not viable and local air quality is not significantly adversely affected.
Further design and exploration, such as trial boreholes, and external project manager or client engineer support can be covered. Eligible works may form a completed phase of a larger transition project. Campus heat networks and certain district-network connections or conversion of authority-owned heat generation can qualify, but costs viable for the Heat Network Efficiency Scheme are excluded.
Your authority must contribute at least 10%. Funding is committed by financial year and must be spent in that year; it cannot roll forward. The grant will not duplicate existing or planned funding, including Sustainable Communities for Learning or Transforming Towns projects.
Claims are paid in arrears as costs are incurred. Most projects are expected to make one claim; complex projects can have up to three drawdowns agreed in the grant offer. PDF invoices must evidence 100% of project capital costs, even where the grant pays up to 90%. Evidence that invoices have been paid, such as a receipted invoice or redacted bank statement, is due with the claim or within four weeks of receiving grant funds.
Eligibility
Your applicant must be a local authority in Wales, with implementation-ready work in its own non-domestic buildings. Awarded works under round 4 must be completed by 31 March 2027.
- Remove fossil-fuel heating entirely: only fully decarbonised solutions are supported. Heat must be produced at less than 100 g CO2e per kWh, with a minimum seasonal coefficient of performance (SCOP) of 2.8. SCOP measures seasonal heat output relative to electricity input. Use a whole-building approach that reduces heat loss and supports lower heating-water temperatures and efficient operation; consider flow temperatures of 35–55°C.
- Base heat-pump design and operation assumptions on real conditions. Annual primary heat output is normally expected to be no greater than the replaced system's output; changed zoning or longer operating hours can justify higher heat delivery. Maximising efficiency must not encourage unnecessary heat generation. Consider the hot-water solution, including localised provision where more efficient.
- Design for metering heat output and electricity input and for monitoring performance. Future operating data must be accessible and shareable on request.
- Existing low-carbon or direct-electric heating replacements, fossil-fuel plant, projects with installation already started, and new-build or extension projects are excluded.
- Exclusions also cover major refurbishments where heating infrastructure is not the majority of works or the refurbishment spans several years; building improvements primarily unrelated to heating efficiency or disproportionately aesthetic; and new or extended district heating with a financial case and return from heat sales.
- Feasibility or concept work, internal payroll staff, contingency, operation and maintenance, and recoverable VAT are excluded. Authorities are expected to recover all VAT and manage the cash flow if recovery occurs in the next financial year. Cost increases during delivery may be requested as a variation, subject to funds being available.
How to apply
- Status
- lukket
- Lukker
- Vilkår for ansøgningsrunden
- Round 4 second wave, subject to funding remaining. Awarded works must finish by 31 March 2027.[^c8][^c10]
Round 4's two application deadlines have passed. The first wave closed on 6 March 2026 and the second on 27 April 2026. Earlier submissions were prioritised, and the round could close early if the first wave exhausted funding.
For that round, applicants used the published Excel form and emailed it with supporting evidence to lowcarbonheat@energyservice.wales. Each form covered up to 10 sites, with up to two applications per organisation; applicants were asked to identify priority sites. All relevant sections and supporting information had to be complete or the application could be rejected. Clarification meetings could be required. Assessment considers technical detail, deliverability and costs, alongside evidence of project maturity, options appraisal, governance and the estate being retained.
Successful applicants receive an award notification followed by a Grant Offer Letter. An appropriately senior person must sign it within 10 days of receipt and provide bank details. Spending is allowed from the initial award notification date; proof of quotation and contractor appointment must be provided to receive the grant.
During delivery, expect progress reports or meetings. Submit any material change in scope, completion timing or grant value to the Energy Service as a grant variation request by email. Grantees must provide access to operational staff for interviews or surveys, respond to case-study and press-release requests, and agree to reasonable learning-sharing requests, including design and performance information, site visits, photos and case studies.