CARES Community Energy Growth Fund — Development

The applicant must be a non-profit-distributing Scottish organisation with an area of benefit in Scotland. Accepted structures are Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisations (SCIOs), private companies limited by guarantee, community benefit societies, community interest companies, unincorporated charities registered with OSCR, and Community Amateur Sports Clubs. Provide governing documents and the required OSCR, Companies House or Financial Conduct Authority registration number. Surpluses must not be distributed to members, including when the organisation closes.

Serve a defined geographical community or community of interest, including faith groups. The management committee or board must contain at least three unrelated people local to its defined area of benefit. Two trustees or directors must complete identity and anti-money-laundering checks; these do not affect their credit ratings.

Every eligible project alternative must be community-owned, use established proven technology and meet one or more of these routes:

• New renewable electricity generation of at least 100 kW installed capacity. Multiple sites, technologies or an expansion of a previously supported project can combine to meet this threshold.
• New storage of at least 100 kWh, providing services to the wider grid or energy system. This standalone storage route does not require 100 kW of generation.
• Add storage, demand flexibility or both to new or existing community-owned renewable generation totalling at least 100 kW. Demand flexibility means adjusting when electricity is used to help the energy system. Storage capacity cannot count towards the generation threshold: kW measures generating power, while kWh measures the amount of energy stored.

Solar PV, onshore wind, hydropower, batteries and qualifying local electricity-supply arrangements are supported. Electricity may be exported to the grid, supplied directly to a local user with enough demand, or used by a building or site. Repowering—renewing the generating equipment of an existing renewable project—may also qualify. Below-100 kW exceptions can be considered individually for solar on third-party buildings, smaller wind and smaller hydro projects, with significant lasting community benefit and a clear plan for using project income.

For projects supplying your building, decarbonised heating is preferred. A building whose heating is not yet decarbonised may be considered individually, but you must provide half-hourly electricity-use data showing sufficient daytime demand and a credible plan to decarbonise its heating.

Equality: upload the signed charter declaration and meet at least the first requirement under every relevant heading. All organisations must avoid discrimination based on age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage/civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity, race, religion/belief, sex or sexual orientation. A community building you run must be open to all. When a revenue-generating project has funds to distribute, it must have a community action plan representing all members and encouraging their participation and a strategy for fair, inclusive use of the money.

Fair Work: applicants sign a joint declaration during application and before the final claim. Employers must pay at least the real Living Wage, an independently calculated cost-of-living benchmark distinct from the statutory government minimum. CARES requires this rate for UK-based staff aged 16 or over, including apprentices, and requires employers to provide ways for workers to raise views individually and collectively. Organisations with fewer than 21 workers do not have to evidence the collective channel, but must still provide effective voice; those with at least 21 paid workers must evidence both. The wage self-declaration covers paid staff, apprentices, contractors and agency staff. Below £100,000 of financial-year CARES funding, this declaration is subject to spot checks; above £100,000 including the application, additional evidence is required. Written confirmation from a worker or trade-union representative must identify the available voice channels. Employers are also asked to put a short joint statement on their website committing to advancing Fair Work First, including the real Living Wage and effective workers’ voice conditions.

Status

stängd

Stänger

14 sep. 2026

Begränsningar i omgången

• Full applications close at noon on 14 September 2026. Complete organisation eligibility checks and submit required documents at least one week before the full application.
• Complete funded activities and submit all funding claims by 15 March 2027. Decisions depend on Scottish Government funding and approval to award new funds; commitment requires a signed and returned Grant Offer Letter.

1. The organisation’s trustees or employees—not an installer or contractor—must apply through the CARES Project Portal, reached from the official fund page. Submit an expression of interest using “Begin a new project”, then complete the Organisation Fund Eligibility Check. Upload governing documents, a recent bank statement, latest published accounts, proof of authority to apply, and trustee/director-signed equality and Fair Work declarations. An organisation under 21 months old without published accounts may instead document its creation date and when the first accounts are due. Complete the two-person identity checks through the portal’s Yoti tool.
2. Complete eligibility checks and submit the required documents at least one week before the full application. The current full-application deadline is noon on 14 September 2026. After eligibility is confirmed, submit a defined project, site, technology, milestones, costs and delivery plan. Competitive assessment considers viability, community impact, deliverability and value for money. Explain the choice of preferred contractors for lower-value development work and how it offers value; larger work is expected to test the market through appropriate procurement.
3. Answer the portal’s subsidy-control questions. Local Energy Scotland determines whether the grant is a subsidy and states the legal basis in the offer. It usually uses the CARES Grant and Loan Scheme SC11309; if it instead uses Minimum Financial Assistance, you must declare that the award will not take the organisation’s total Minimum Financial Assistance above £315,000 over the current and two previous financial years. Funding awarded under the usual CARES scheme does not reduce that separate allowance. This is conditional subsidy treatment, not a separate Development grant cap.
4. Awards depend on the Scottish Government confirming programme funding and approval to award new funds. Funding is not formally committed until you receive, sign and return the Grant Offer Letter. If your award covers less than the eligible cost, have the required match funding in place before contracting and drawing down funding. Other Scottish Government grants and in-kind contributions, such as donated goods or unpaid time rather than cash, cannot be match funds. National Lottery Community funds cannot match National Lottery-funded CARES awards. The Scottish Government SME interest-free loan can be used only without its cashback grant; other sources can include reserves, fundraising, community-benefit funds, qualifying grants and bank loans.
5. Exclude VAT from requested costs when it is recoverable or not chargeable. Claim in stages as contractor invoices arrive, at the percentage in your offer letter. Complete the funded activities and submit all claims by 15 March 2027. Acknowledge CARES in project promotion and on-site signage, and take proportionate steps against exploitation in supply chains, complying with the relevant requirements.