GrantRadar

Great British Energy

Great British Energy Community Fund

Staged grants from Great British Energy for incorporated community organisations in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to develop and build community-owned clean energy projects. Stage 1 funds feasibility (up to £40,000), Stage 2 development up to final investment decision (up to £100,000) and Stage 3 construction of ready-to-build projects (up to £3 million, and no more than 50% of capital costs). Applicants apply for the stage their project is ready for, and the project must be at least 50% community owned when operating. The 2026 fund totals £20 million.

Apply on the funder’s site
You could get
£1 – £3,000,000
Closes in
15 days left
12 November
Effort
Heavy
budgets, references, often several stages

Who can apply

  • Legally incorporated community organisations based in England, Wales or Northern Ireland with a bank account that has two signatories: CIOs, community benefit societies, CICs, co-operative societies, development trusts, pre-commencement societies, incorporated registered charities, registered social landlords, registered societies, and town, parish or community councils
  • Other local authorities cannot apply (English councils can use the GBE Local Partnerships Grant), nor can schools, though a community group can apply for a project on a school site with wider community benefit
  • Projects in Scotland are supported separately through CARES
  • The community organisation must hold at least a 50% legal and financial interest in the project company or asset when operational, must have an existing relationship with the host community and evidence local support, and must show a defined share of benefits staying in the community
  • Applicants should provide recent statutory accounts (ideally three years); newly incorporated groups can provide management accounts or a statement of assets, liabilities and income instead
  • Stage 2 needs a completed feasibility study; Stage 3 needs planning permission, a secured grid connection, signed land agreements, a construction plan and confirmed match funding
  • Joint applications need a lead partner, and every partner must be an eligible organisation

What it funds

Clean energy projects under community ownership, in three stages:

  • Stage 1, feasibility (up to £40,000): technical, legal and feasibility services, land, planning and consenting scoping, community engagement, governance and ownership structures, financial and commercial development, project management (capped at 20% of a claim) and proportionate overheads
  • Stage 2, development to final investment decision (up to £100,000): detailed technical design and engineering, planning and consenting, grid connection development, land and property arrangements, governance and legal structures, financial and investment development including share offers, community engagement, project management and overheads
  • Stage 3, capital (up to £3 million, no more than 50% of capital costs): purchase, construction, installation and commissioning of generation and storage assets, and associated infrastructure such as grid connection works, cabling, metering and control systems

Stages 1 and 2 cover anaerobic digestion (electricity), biogas and biomass heat networks, hydropower, ground-mounted and rooftop solar, solar thermal and wind, plus heat pumps, heat pump-fed heat networks and battery storage when combined with another eligible technology. Stage 3 covers anaerobic digestion, hydropower, solar, wind and combined battery storage. Community energy advice, bulk-buy retrofit and multi-household energy efficiency projects can get Stage 1 funding only.

What it will not fund

  • Costs incurred or unconditionally committed before the eligible expenditure date, and application preparation costs
  • Land acquisition
  • Stage 3: ongoing operational costs, development or feasibility work, project management, staff, legal, financial advice, community engagement or general overheads
  • Ongoing delivery of advice services, routine operational costs, or direct installation of energy efficiency measures
  • Services that substantially duplicate an existing provider able to meet the need
  • Repeating, duplicating or replacing activities already funded by GBECF or earlier DESNZ community energy funds, including redoing a feasibility study that was not completed to an acceptable standard
  • Ordinary operations, business-as-usual activity or general organisational costs
  • Fines, penalties, remediation costs or other existing legal obligations
  • Rescue or restructuring support
  • Projects where the benefits are confined principally to a school
  • Applications from schools directly, or from local authorities other than town, parish and community councils

How to apply

  1. Check the organisation and project are eligible for the stage the project is ready for (you do not need funding from an earlier stage)
  2. Get pre-application advice: in England from your Local Net Zero Hub, which can review drafts; in Wales from the Welsh Government Energy Service; in Northern Ireland from Advice NI
  3. Complete the separate application form for Stage 1, 2 or 3 on the GBECF portal
  4. Submit by 11:55pm on 12 November 2026; late or incomplete applications are not accepted
  5. Applications are checked for eligibility, scored, moderated and ranked, then shortlisted ones go through due diligence before a Grant Funding Agreement is agreed

Each application must score at least 3 out of 5 in every assessment area. Stages 1 and 2 reserve a minimum share of funding for Wales, Northern Ireland and each English hub region. All funding must be spent and claimed by 31 March 2028.

Have ready

  • Most recent statutory annual accounts, or alternative financial information such as management accounts, draft financial statements or a statement of assets, liabilities and income
  • Information showing the organisation can manage grant funding and project expenditure
  • Quotes for costs (best practice three, or an explanation for fewer)
  • Stage 2: a completed feasibility study
  • Stage 3: a detailed financial model showing the financing gap, and evidence of planning permission, grid connection, land agreements and third-party funding

Projects on a school site also need evidence of the school's and landowner's support. GBE may ask for further evidence of governance, financial controls and forecasts.

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