Salix Finance has announced that Phase 4 of the Public Sector Low Carbon Skills Fund (Phase 4 LCSF) will be open for applications on Wednesday 26^th April at 2pm. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has set aside £17 million with the goal being to best prepare public sector bodies for the next round of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, later in the year.

For this round of LCSF, there are three funding options:

1. Funding to develop or improve a heat decarbonisation plan incorporating any output outlined in the scheme criteria section.

2. Develop standalone detailed design(s) from pre-existing heat decarbonisation plan(s).

3. A combination of options one and two above, to develop or improve a heat decarbonisation plan(s) and develop a standalone detailed design(s) from a pre-existing heat decarbonisation plan(s).

The HDP Purpose

As per Salix’s announcement, the purpose of acquiring an HDP is as follows, “[an HDP] will help organisations to think more strategically about decarbonisation opportunities, and work through the planning lifecycle up to and including the development of detailed project proposals that are cost effective, aligned with their organisational decarbonisation strategy, and ready to be funded, including through an application for other grant funding schemes.”

The Funds

In an effort to provide the opportunity for funding to be allocated to a wider range of projects, a funding cap has been introduced, dividing the £17 million into three grant value ranges (including an overall grant value cap of £1,000,000):

• 34% of funding for projects up to £100,000.
• 38% of funding for projects between £100,001-£500,000.
• 28% of funding for projects between £500,001-£1,000,000.

To date, grants have been used to pay for plans in full, meaning no client contribution is required. This remains the case for Phase 4 LCSF.

Key Dates

• Early April – Applicants to register on Salix LCSF4 website. (We can register as well, as consultants. Needs to be done on an individual basis. But we can’t submit grant apps on behalf of clients).
• 26^th April at 2pm – Portal opens. It is critical that applications are submitted as soon after 2pm as possible otherwise the chances are the budget will already be oversubscribed. Therefore, early prep is essential well before 26 April.
• From June – Grant Offer Letters (GOL) being issued.
• By 14^th July – All GOLs awarded.
• 28 March 2024 – All grants to be spent.

In Autumn 2023, PSDS3c is expected to be similarly announced, with the main focus being heat decarbonisation, but the scheme will also pay for related capital works that are necessary to enable the heat decarbonisation to be done cost-effectively.

If you are interested in submitting an application to Phase 4 LCSF, please contact us at ReEnergise. We will provide free technical support to grant applications, plus advice on crafting the language in the various application boxes, increasing your chance of a successful application.

To read the full Salix Finance Phase 4 LCSF announcement, click here.