Funding Programmes - Low Carbon Building Programme

Part of the DTI’s microgeneration strategy, the Low Carbon Buildings Programme was launched on 1 April 2006, and will run over three years, replacing the previous DTI Clear Skies and Solar PV grant programmes.

Open to householders, public, not for profit and commercial organisations across the UK (except the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man), the programme is intended to demonstrate how energy efficiency and microgeneration can work hand in hand to create low carbon buildings.

Total funding for the programme is £80m, split into 2 distinct phases each with its own funding allocation:

Phase 1 – Total £28.5m: £10.5m is available to householders and community organisations for the installation of small scale microgeneration technologies, with a further £18 million to be made available to public, not for profit and private sector organizations for medium and large scale microgeneration projects.

Phase 1 is administered by the Energy Savings Trust.

Phase 2 – Total £50m: available for public sector buildings only (including schools, hospitals, housing associations and local authorities) and charitable bodies. Products must be sourced through appointed Framework Suppliers.

Dimplex is an appointed Framework Supplier of ground source heat pumps.Click here for further details.

Phase 2 is administered by the BRE.

The principle aims of the programme as a whole are:

  • To support a more holistic approach to reducing carbon emissions from buildings by demonstrating combinations of both energy efficiency measures and microgeneration products in a single development.
  • To see demonstrated on a wider scale emerging microgeneration technologies (with a focus on building integrated technologies).
  • To measure trends in costs of microgeneration technologies. It is expected that these costs should reduce over the lifetime of the programme against a 2005 baseline.
  • To raise awareness by linking demonstration projects to a wider programme of activities including developing skills and communicating the potential of microgeneration to change the attitudes and behaviour of consumers. Larger scale projects will seek to engage the construction industry in project replication by demonstrating the business case for developing low carbon buildings.
  • To make quality microgeneration products available to the public sector at lower than usual cost and to drive down costs of these products over the long term.

Full details of the Low Carbon Buildings Programme Phase 1 can be found at www.lowcarbonbuildings.org.uk

Full details of the Low Carbon Buildings Programme Phase 2 can be found at www.lowcarbonbuildingsphase2.org.uk

MICROGENERATION TECHNOLOGIES SUPPORTED

The low carbon buildings programme funds a range of microgeneration technologies including:

Phase 1 Phase 2
Solar photovoltaics
Wind turbines
Small hydro
Solar thermal hot water
Ground source heat pumps
Air source heat pumps From April 07
Water source heat pumps From April 07
Bio-energy
Renewable CHP
MicroCHP (Combined heat and power)
Fuel cells

Click here for factsheets from the LCBP website providing basic information on each of the technologies supported.