Supporting communities to decarbonise on the road to net zero

  • Posted: 07 Jul 2021

Thrive's Community Benefit Programme is open for applications.

We are pleased to announce that round five of our Community Benefit Programme is now open for applications. The Community Benefit Programme provides grants for energy efficiency and sustainability improvements for community buildings close to our clean energy projects. A total of £30,000 is available to eligible buildings. Grants of up to £4,000 will be awarded for improvements which result in carbon savings or fuel bill reductions, and could include:

  • Insulation,
  • Draught proofing,
  • Improved heating or lighting controls,
  • LED lighting,
  • Other energy saving measures

Applications are administered by national energy charity the Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE). Applicants must complete a full energy survey of the building using the guidance supplied by CSE. This will help identify potential improvements, including zero-cost measures, and calculate carbon and cost savings for different options. You can download the full guidance, eligibility information, the energy survey, and grant application form, as well as other resources, on the CSE Community Benefit Programme website.

To be eligible to apply, buildings must be within a 30 mile radius of one of Thrive’s wind, solar, hydro, or battery projects.

Eligible locations

  1. Sigurd KW17 2NL
  2. Clayfords AB43 6RQ
  3. Auchtygills AB43 6RQ
  4. Beochlich PA33 1BW
  5. Dunfermline KY11 8UD
  6. Loch a’Bhraoin IV23 2RB
  7. Drumduff FK11 8UD
  8. Avonmouth BS11 0YS
  9. Boardinghouse PE15 0NY
  10. Ransonmoor PE15 0TY
  11. March PE15 0UW
  12. Eye IP23 8BW
  13. Ness Point NR32 1UZ
  14. Cuckmere BN26 6TH
  15. Haverigg II LA18 4NB
  16. Caton Moor LA2 9HF
  17. Wicken MK19 6BS

Our Community Benefit Programme has been running since 2015 to fill a funding gap between domestic and commercial properties. It raises awareness of energy issues and makes communities more sustainable and comfortable, therefore more beneficial to the people they serve. To date, we’ve awarded 31 grants to 23 buildings, totalling £90,000. These improvements save 60 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year.

In 2020, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we repurposed our Community Benefit Programme and savings made on business travel to meet the urgent needs of the communities who host our projects. We donated £39,050 to organisations fighting poverty, loneliness and supporting education. These included foodbanks, a care home to provide iPads to residents enabling them to speak to their loved ones, a baby bank providing essentials to new families experiencing poverty, and a local school to support home learning.

Applications for round five will be open from 7th July to 19th September. For more information contact Rachel Haycock at CSE on 0117 934 1424.