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Community Energy Generation Growth Fund
Applications are now open to the Community Energy Generation Growth Fund
The second round of the Community Energy Generation Growth Fund from The Scottish Government’s Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES) is open for applications until Monday 8 September 2025!
The fund supports community groups across Scotland to develop renewable energy projects, including onshore wind, solar photovoltaic (PV) and hydro.
CARES will support community organisations to develop their own renewable energy projects, including wind and solar photovoltaic (PV) projects, through the Community Energy Generation Growth Fund, building on the success of last year’s pilot fund. The Community Energy Generation Growth Fund can help community organisations with grant funding, advice, and loan funding to progress your renewable energy projects. Support can be at the feasibility, development or construction stages of a project.
If you’ve not yet developed a clear project idea, you can review case studies of community energy generation projects together with examples of past projects and potential project models.
Most of the CARES Community Energy Generation Growth Fund is capital funding, however, limited resource funding that can be used for early feasibility studies etc is also available. We want to support communities that have a clear project plan, including details on what renewable technologies they plan to install, and where they’ll install them.
If your idea doesn’t currently meet this aim but you think you may be interested in funding in the future, please sign up to the Local Energy Scotland newsletter to be kept up to date with future support opportunities.
If you haven’t had CARES funding before, please go to the CARES project portal and submit an expression of interest form with information about your organisation and project so that we can check eligibility before you submit a full application.
If you already have a CARES portal account, you must apply for funding for your new project by submitting an expression of interest form in relation to that new project via your existing portal account. When you start to fill out your online application, please select the funding call you are applying under at the start of the ‘Project details’ part of the application. This is important as it effects the questions that will be displayed for you to complete.
Read the fund guidance and apply today at: Community Energy Generation Growth Fund
The fund will close on Monday 8 September 2025.
