Welsh Government Announces £10m Green Business Loan Scheme
Loans are available to help businesses in Wales cut their energy costs by taking steps to become greener and more energy efficient.
The Green Business Loan Scheme has been set up to fund energy efficiency and decarbonisation enhancements that will help reduce business costs, and support the achievement of Wales’ long-term net zero objectives.
Projects which could be supported by the loans include:
- Investing in renewable energy technology.
- Improving the fabric of premises and energy efficiencies within buildings.
- Upgrading systems or machinery to reduce energy use.
- Water usage and waste reduction/improvements.
The scheme’s ambition is to invest £10 million over three years. Loan amounts will range from £1,000 up to £1.5 million.
Support and advice is also available from the Welsh Government’s Business Wales service to help businesses decarbonise. Businesses can also apply for grants of up to £10,000 if their needs are more complex, or there is a desire to undertake a review of decarbonisation opportunities.
To apply, limited companies, sole traders or partnerships must be based in Wales (or willing to relocate in Wales) and trading for at least two years with at least one set of filed, annual accounts.
Projects must have a carbon cost that does not exceed £325 per tonne of CO2e saved to determine a sufficient level of carbon effectiveness for the measures being implemented, as well as value for money.
Economy Minister, Vaughan Gething, said:
‘We want to ensure businesses have the support needed to make the improvements they want to make – not just through financial backing offered by the Green Business Loan Scheme, but also with practical advice from our Business Wales service.
‘I’d encourage any businesses interested in the new scheme to contact the Development Bank for more information.’
Applications may be submitted at any time.
(This report was the subject of a GRANTfinder Newsflash.)
