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Local Energy Scotland - CARES Community Buildings Fund
Created: 15/05/2025
News/Events Category: Funding and Finance
The CARES Community Buildings Fund provides grants to help community organisations reduce their building’s energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions. It does this by funding the installation of renewable technologies like heat pumps, battery storage, and solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, as well as some energy efficiency measures.
CARES funding can be used to develop your project and install renewable measures in your community building. Examples include:
- Development costs like building warrants, planning permission, and grid connection applications
- Installation costs
- The costs to install the 'core' renewable energy measures
- The 'add on' energy efficiency and energy storage measures
The fund is primarily for renewable measures so the ‘development costs’ and ‘add on’ measures must be a minority part of the total requested costs.
The funding will decarbonise existing self-managed community buildings., i.e. you must install at least one of the following:
- A heat pump (air source, ground source or water source)
- A connection to heat network
- Solar photovoltaic (PV) panels
- Solar water heating
In addition to installing a core measure(s), you can also apply for funding to install one or more of the following:
- Energy storage
- Insulation
- Secondary glazing
- Draught proofing
- Appropriate energy saving controls that are linked to new installations to ensure they operate efficiently. Add-on measures must be a minority element of the overall funding requested.
Approved projects must be completed and all funding claimed by the end of February 2026.
Fund award sizes
Maximum: £80,000
Notes on award amounts:
Up to 80% of eligible costs can be funded up to a maximum grant amount of £80,000. Match funding of at least 20% is required.
Who can apply?
- Constituted, non-profit distributing community organisations, including organisations with charitable status, that are set up and operating across a geographically defined community or faith group
- You will need to install approved measures like air source heat pumps, solar PV panels, and energy-saving improvements, and be committed to decarbonising your building’s heating
- The building you improve must be one you own or lease, that is used often and therefore has high energy costs
Exclusions
- New builds
- Measures that do not result in carbon savings, or that would result in carbon increases
- Intrusive energy efficiency measures – for example new double glazing, fabric-integrated roof insulation, external wall insulation or internal wall insulation that require wider renovation/significant access and/or reinstatement work
- LED lighting
- Costs related to wider building renovations
- Community buildings with gas, oil, coal or LPG heating where the heating is not being decarbonised as part of the proposed CARES-funded project
- Retrospective work
- Funding to replace an existing direct electric heating system with a heat pump is not available where the existing system is working effectively, is affordable, controllable and comfortably heats the community building for the intended uses
How to apply
- Read the guidance.
- Fill out an expression of interest form.
- Submit your application via the Local Energy Scotland CARES project portal.
The closing date for applications is Friday 31 October 2025.
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