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PRIVACY
Economic Development

New £24.6m clean energy fund for North Wales

The fund has two elements supporting the voluntary and private sectors to decarbonise

Launch of North Wales Clean Energy Fund: Hedd Vaughan-Evans, head of operations, Ambition North Wales, Alwen Williams, chief executive, Ambition North Wales, Rebecca Evans, Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning, Damian Woodford, assistant principal Coleg Llandrillo, Gary Pritchard, leader of Isle of Anglesey County Council, Alun Jones, head of social Investment, WCVA and Nikki Clark chief executive, UMi.

A new £24.6m fund aimed at accelerating the transition of the economy of North Wales into a low carbon one, has been launched.

The Clean Energy Fund is from Ambitious North Wales, which operates as the region’s statutory status corporate joint committee and oversees the investment from the £240m North Wales Growth Deal funded by the º£½ÇÊÓÆµ and Welsh governments.

Funded by the Growth Deal, the new fund will provide financial support primarily for businesses and voluntary-sector organisations, wanting to deliver clean energy or decarbonisation projects.

The overall fund, which will run over a five-year period initially, consists of two key sub-funds for organisations based in North Wales. A voluntary sector sub-fund led by WCVA - designed for charities, social enterprises, and community-led projects; with UMi delivering on a private sector sub-fund for businesses. A third reserve fund can consider applications from other organisations and alternative funding models.

Together, the funding streams will support projects delivering smart energy solutions including storage, energy efficiency, decarbonisation and renewable energy generation.

By empowering organisations to create a sustainable future, the fund, through leverage investment, is forecast to deliver a £100m investment in the region, create 150 new jobs, and cut up to 125,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.

The voluntary sector sub-fund is worth £5m over five years and is for capital spend. The fund will see 50% distributed as grants of £25k to £500,000 with 25% as interest free loans up to a maximum of £250,000. The remaining 25% will be match funding. Loans will be repayable by the end 2035.

The private sector sub-fund is worth £15m over five years and is for capital spend. Loans can range from £25,000 up to £2m, with interest rates ranging from 5% to 12% based on risk, with a 1% arrangement fee. There is a flexible payment term of up to 60 months. All returns from the investment will be invested back into the fund and allocated for new investment