Ynni Cymru local energy systems grant
Grants for Welsh community organisations, public bodies and SMEs to integrate locally owned renewable generation, low-carbon heat and smart energy controls.
Diese Finanzierungsmöglichkeit ist derzeit auf Englisch beschrieben.
The 2026–27 round supported a smart local energy system: renewable electricity and low-carbon heat linked by controls that coordinate how energy is generated, stored and used. For example, a community building could combine solar panels, a heat pump and battery storage, with controls that use locally generated power efficiently. Existing eligible technologies could count if integrated into the system. A single technology, standalone heating, or solar panels with only battery storage did not qualify.
Pathway 1 covered project costs from £25,000 to £299,999.99. Pathway 2 covered innovative projects costing £300,000 to £999,999.99. Each application had to cover one integrated system; connected multi-site projects were permitted. The maximum grant was £999,999.99 per project and per organisation across all applications.
Community organisations and social enterprises had no minimum match-funding requirement. SMEs and public bodies had to contribute at least 25% financially; donated labour, goods or services did not count. Other Welsh Government grants could not provide that match, but Welsh Government loans could. Match funds had to support eligible system-installation costs, subject to the solar exception below.
For SMEs and public bodies, solar panels qualified only when their simple payback period exceeded ten years. This is the time taken to recover the investment from its savings. Only the capital-cost share attributable to years beyond year ten could receive a grant, with support also capped at 40% of eligible solar capital costs. The guidance's £100,000 solar example with a 12.5-year payback allowed £20,000: (12.5 − 10) ÷ 12.5 × £100,000. Match funding could cover the solar costs excluded by this rule.
Funding covered work needed to deliver, install and commission the system, including essential enabling works and insulation justified as necessary for the technology. Wider renovation, including external wall insulation treated as a major building upgrade, was excluded. Direct project-delivery staff time could be claimed at actual employment cost, with overheads limited to 15% of those costs; commercial mark-ups were excluded. VAT-registered organisations could claim net costs only; non-registered organisations could include irrecoverable VAT.
The grant reimburses eligible costs after you have paid and evidenced them, so recipients must finance upfront costs. Claims can follow agreed milestones rather than waiting until final completion. Ongoing operation, maintenance, repair, insurance, replacement and lifecycle costs remain the recipient's responsibility.
Eligibility
These conditions describe the closed 2026–27 intake.
- Your organisation had to have its headquarters or an operating base in Wales. Eligible applicants included Welsh-registered public sector bodies, such as councils, universities, colleges and schools; community organisations and social enterprises, including charities, community-interest companies, cooperatives and legally constituted voluntary organisations; and legally constituted SMEs that employed people in Wales. The guidance's SME test required fewer than 250 staff and turnover below £44 million and/or a balance-sheet total below £38 million. Large commercial enterprises and regulated energy companies were excluded.
- The system had to be locally owned, with local governance or control and benefit-sharing that retained value within Welsh communities. Benefits had to extend beyond your organisation. SMEs needed tangible community and local economic benefits, a mechanism for sharing value locally, and evidence that the project or enhanced community benefits would not proceed, or would be significantly reduced, without public funding.
- Homes could participate only within a wider place-based system delivering community or system benefits. A single-home system or a project primarily benefiting one household was excluded. Applicants had to explain household participation, asset ownership, data governance, ongoing connection to the system and how benefits would be monitored over time.
- Both pathways required renewable generation, low-carbon heat and smart controls. Pathway 2 required a single integrated system optimising electricity and heat; existing equipment could count only where integrated. Its smart controls had to provide additional savings or revenue, for example through electricity prices that reward flexible use, services that adjust energy use to help balance the grid, or local supply arrangements. Applicants also had to explain how the system design, delivery model or operation could be replicated or adapted elsewhere in Wales. Gas, oil, LPG and coal heating, fossil-led hybrid systems and standalone heating were excluded. Direct electric heating was normally excluded, but could be considered if robustly demonstrated to be the only viable option.
- Biomass proposals needed a supply-chain lifecycle carbon assessment, regrowth-offset calculations, source details and support from local planning and building-control authorities. Integrated EV charging needed fair, transparent prices, safeguards against excessive charges and alignment with prevailing market rates.
- You needed ownership, a lease lasting at least three years from the application date, or other necessary site-access and works rights. Landlord consent was required where you did not own the land or buildings; secured lenders might also need to consent. Building and equipment insurance had to remain adequate. Pathway 1 needed consents in place or reasonably achievable within the timetable. Pathway 2 needed formal processes initiated, or strong evidence and confidence that consents would arrive in time, with supporting evidence uploaded.
- Activities already started and costs incurred before the award letter were ineligible, as were costs outside the award period. Other exclusions included feasibility/concept work, application-writing costs, legally required improvements, cooling-only air conditioning, contingency, future finance leasing or software fees and operating/maintenance costs. Replacement equipment qualified only where the existing equipment had reached the end of its useful life.
For SMEs, community organisations, social enterprises and charities, purchases below £5,000 still required competitive procurement and evidence of value for money, but no minimum quote count. Purchases from £5,000 to £75,000 required seeking at least three written quotes; above £75,000, at least four, normally through a formal tender. Public bodies instead had to follow public procurement regulations. Keep requests, quotes, selection records and decisions for audit; declare conflicts and exclude conflicted people from decisions. If you cannot meet procurement requirements, contact Ynni Cymru or the Welsh Government Energy Service project manager before proceeding.
Funded assets must be maintained and retained for the award letter's asset-owning period, stated in the guidance as ten years. During that period, ceasing trade, significant business changes, selling grant-funded items or the system site, changing ownership, or moving the business outside Wales or selling it may trigger repayment. Site changes after submission require exceptional circumstances and Ynni Cymru's written agreement.
How to apply
- Status
- geschlossen
- Antragsbeginn
- Antragsschluss
- Beschränkungen dieser Antragsrunde
- Applications are closed. Projects must be completed by 31 March 2027.[^c37][^c42]
Applications are closed. The 2026 intake ran from 26 March until noon on 21 May 2026, with project completion required by 31 March 2027. The Welsh Government's application page gives the current closed status; Ynni Cymru can be contacted at ynnicymru@localpartnerships.gov.uk.
The closed round used a separate online form for each pathway. Applications required the Ynni Cymru Project Schedule Template; other schedule formats were not accepted. Pathway 2 also required its Risk Register Template, with omission making the application ineligible. Collaborative applications used a lead organisation responsible for delivery, costs and grant compliance.
Awards were competitive and subject to subsidy control; the guidance warned that the 2026–27 budget allocation would be decided by the post-election Welsh Government. A successful applicant receives a Welsh Government Standard Grant Award Letter setting the legally binding conditions, milestones, maximum offer and claim expiry. Grant offers depend on satisfactory due diligence. Before claims, provide the applicable pre-funding evidence for site rights, permissions, grid connection, design, secured match funding, partnership agreements, procurement and insurance, plus requested financial-crime checks.
Submit claim documents with invoices, proof of payment, timesheets where applicable and evidence of progress. The lead applicant makes claims and provides progress reports; keep monitoring and reporting arrangements to evidence the promised benefits, including for post-completion verification.