Board Briefing Note

Community Energy Generation Growth Fund

9 June 2026 · Solar Project Funding Update

Application deadline: 30 June 2026

Application is substantially complete — outstanding items are clarifications only (see below)
Rachel Yule (Local Energy Scotland) is away until 17 June — queries must be resolved after that date or via the webinar
Webinar on 11 June will cover this fund — outstanding questions to be raised then
Organisation eligibility check must be submitted at least 1 week before the deadline — i.e. by 23 June

Why this fund, not CARES Phase 2

CARES Phase 2 (already in progress with Rachel Yule) caps at £120k — useful but secondary
The Community Energy Generation Growth Fund offers up to £350k combined across development and construction stages
For CDT's ~£230k project, this fund alone could cover the majority of costs
CARES then covers the 20% construction match rather than acting as primary funder

Stage	Grant	Cap	Eligible costs	CDT examples
Feasibility	100%	£20k	Site-specific feasibility studies Options appraisals Preliminary surveys	Solar yield modelling Ground conditions survey Grid pre-application enquiry BESS sizing study
Development	100%	£200k / yr	Planning applications Full technical design Grid connection agreements & payments Land agreements & legal costs Contractor procurement Professional fees (PM, engineers)	Planning drawings DNO connection offer (SSEN fee) Legal costs (camp field lease) Quantity surveyor Panel/inverter specification Project management time
Construction	80%	£150k grant	Capital installation costs Equipment purchase Battery storage (if complementary) Client engineer, site manager	Solar panels (quoted) Ground screws + mounting String inverters Cable trenching, fencing BESS unit (if in scope) Commissioning engineer

Ineligible: ongoing staff salaries, general overheads, marketing, reclaimable VAT.

Cost bucket	Estimate	Stage	Fund covers
Design, planning, grid connection, legal	~£20–30k	Development	£20–30k (100%)
Panels, inverters, mounting, ground screws	~£130–150k	Construction	~£104–120k (80%)
Civils — trenching, fencing (shared with EV)	~£50k	Construction	~£40k (80%)
Installation labour	~£40k	Construction	~£32k (80%)
Total	~£230k		~£196–222k from this fund

CARES (£120k) then covers the ~20% construction match — making the project potentially fully funded across both streams.

Confirm overseas panel supply eligibility under CARES with Rachel Yule (available from 17 June)
Raise any remaining questions at the 11 June webinar
Submit organisation eligibility check by 23 June at the latest
Secure outstanding quotes: ground screws, mounting, fencing (Ken — before today's meeting)

Action	Owner	By
Attend 11 June webinar; raise outstanding clarifications	Bravo	11 Jun
Chase Rachel Yule re: overseas panel supply eligibility	Bravo	17 Jun
Submit organisation eligibility check	Ken + Bravo	23 Jun
Submit full application	Ken + Bravo	30 Jun

Why this fund, not CARES Phase 2

CARES Phase 2 (already in progress with Rachel Yule) caps at £120k — useful but secondary

The Community Energy Generation Growth Fund offers up to £350k combined across development and construction stages

For CDT's ~£230k project, this fund alone could cover the majority of costs

CARES then covers the 20% construction match rather than acting as primary funder

Funding by Stage

Stage	Grant	Cap	Eligible costs	CDT examples
Feasibility	100%	£20k	Site-specific feasibility studies Options appraisals Preliminary surveys	Solar yield modelling Ground conditions survey Grid pre-application enquiry BESS sizing study
Development	100%	£200k / yr	Planning applications Full technical design Grid connection agreements & payments Land agreements & legal costs Contractor procurement Professional fees (PM, engineers)	Planning drawings DNO connection offer (SSEN fee) Legal costs (camp field lease) Quantity surveyor Panel/inverter specification Project management time
Construction	80%	£150k grant	Capital installation costs Equipment purchase Battery storage (if complementary) Client engineer, site manager	Solar panels (quoted) Ground screws + mounting String inverters Cable trenching, fencing BESS unit (if in scope) Commissioning engineer

Ineligible: ongoing staff salaries, general overheads, marketing, reclaimable VAT.

What this means for CDT's ~£230k project (300kWp)

Cost bucket	Estimate	Stage	Fund covers
Design, planning, grid connection, legal	~£20–30k	Development	£20–30k (100%)
Panels, inverters, mounting, ground screws	~£130–150k	Construction	~£104–120k (80%)
Civils — trenching, fencing (shared with EV)	~£50k	Construction	~£40k (80%)
Installation labour	~£40k	Construction	~£32k (80%)
Total	~£230k		~£196–222k from this fund

CARES (£120k) then covers the ~20% construction match — making the project potentially fully funded across both streams.

Outstanding items before submission

Confirm overseas panel supply eligibility under CARES with Rachel Yule (available from 17 June)

Raise any remaining questions at the 11 June webinar

Submit organisation eligibility check by 23 June at the latest

Secure outstanding quotes: ground screws, mounting, fencing (Ken — before today's meeting)

Action

Owner

Attend 11 June webinar; raise outstanding clarifications

Bravo

11 Jun

Chase Rachel Yule re: overseas panel supply eligibility

Bravo

17 Jun

Submit organisation eligibility check

Ken + Bravo

23 Jun

Submit full application

Ken + Bravo

30 Jun