Great British Energy Community Fund

Funding of up to £140,000 is available to help parish and town councils, community organisations, faith groups, community interest companies and even sports teams get started on clean power projects that benefit their local areas. 

About the Fund

The Great British Energy Community Fund (GBE:CF) is the first grant programme for community energy projects funded by Great British Energy – the new publicly-owned energy company. 

The fund designed to help local communities across the UK transition to sustainable energy solutions and empower communities to take control of their energy needs, reduce carbon footprints, and create a greener, more sustainable future for all. 

The Great British Energy Community Fund is a £5million programme being delivered by the five Net Zero Hubs in England on behalf of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and Great British Energy. 

The Vision

The government wants every community in the UK to have access to clean, renewable energy. 

By providing financial support for project development it is aiming to foster innovation, drive local energy projects, and promote energy independence.  

This fund aims to: 

• Support communities – by helping them to maximise the income generating potential of renewable energy and put this to work locally;   

• Make progress against the Government’s target to increase renewable energy generation, and promote community-owned renewable schemes; and 
• Promote growth and job creation – to enable communities to access the economic benefits associated with renewable energy schemes.  

How to apply

The North West Net Zero Hub are overseeing the regional share of the GBE Community Fund. Prior to the formal application process, organisations are invited to express their interest in applying for funding.  

To express your interest in applying for GBECF Stage 1 please complete the form here (see privacy policy).

To express your interest in applying for GBECF Stage 2 please contact jack.smith@lancashire.gov.uk to discuss. 

Please complete the form all at once and submit, there is no option to save and return to the form at a later date. 

Expressions of interest and organisations readiness will be evaluated by the North West Net Zero Hub. The deadline to complete the Stage 1 Expression of Interest is 30th September 2025 at midnight, organisations will be contacted with the outcome of their expression of interest after the deadline. 

Funding Available

Stage 1 – Feasibility Grant  

For those communities at an early stage of exploring the possibility of a renewable energy Project, and which meet the Fund’s eligibility criteria, this stage offers grants of up to a maximum of £40,000 to cover consultancy and professional costs for the development of a feasibility study.    

 Stage 2 – Development Grant  

For Projects which demonstrate a good chance of securing planning permission and being implemented, the North West Net Zero Hub will consider further development funding of up to £100,000 to enable more detailed investigation into the key areas of technology selection including: 

• Investigating possible purchase of land (legal fees for example), 

• Environmental impact assessments, 

• Submitting planning applications and permitting applications 

• Developing a full investment business plan.  

The following organisations are eligible: 

• Charitable Incorporated Organisation 
• Community Benefit Society 
• Community Interest Company 
• Co-operative Society 
• Development Trust 
• Pre-Commencement Society 
• Registered Charity (including eligible faith groups, sports clubs,) 
• Registered Social Landlord 
• Registered Society 
• Town or Parish Council 

Privacy Policy (specific to information shared with Lancashire County Council in partnership with the North West Net Zero Hub with regard to the Great British Energy Community Fund)

Your information will be stored and processed in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA). Lancashire County Council (in partnership with the North West Net Zero Hub) is the data controller for personal data you give to us/we hold about you. Lancashire County Council (in partnership with the North West Net Zero Hub) process your data in accordance with their Privacy Policy which can be found here. We use it in line with the Data Protection Act. We are subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and other obligations under law which require us to act transparently, and which grant certain rights of access to the public information held by us. This means, that although we respect the sensitivity of the information, there may be legal requirements which oblige us to disclose this information.  

We will use the information you supply to administer, process, and assess your grant application. Information may be shared with other persons or organisations helping us with the assessment and monitoring of applications. Information you provide will also be shared with Government Departments and the wider North West Net Zero Hub. Your information may also be shared with Government departments and other public bodies for the purpose of fraud prevention. The application and evaluation may also be subject to audit and review by internal and external auditors who may need to access the information you submit in your application.  

If you supply information related to third parties as part of your application, you must ensure that you inform those third parties about how you use this information and inform them that this information has been passed onto Lancashire County Council (in partnership with the North West Net Zero Hub). 

We will not hold your information for longer than is necessary. We will hold most of your information for three years after project closure unless we have a legitimate reason to keep it for longer.  

If any information we hold changes or is incomplete, please tell us and we will amend it.