Phase Three of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Fund Opens to Applications

Grants available for public sector bodies in England to fund energy efficiency and heat decarbonisation measures.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) launched the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) to provide grants to public sector bodies to fund energy efficiency and heat decarbonisation measures.

Delivered by Salix Finance, the PSDS will encourage green investment aligning with the Government’s Net Zero and clean growth goals.

The main aims of the scheme are to deliver stimulus to the energy efficiency and low carbon heat sectors, supporting jobs, and deliver significant carbon savings in the public sector.

The priority for Phase 3 of the scheme is to provide funding for decarbonisation projects where the heating systems are at the end of their working lives and there is imminent need for replacement.

The following public sector bodies in England are eligible to apply for the Grant Scheme.

  • Central government departments and their arm’s length bodies. For central government departments where their roles are reserved (i.e. not devolved to Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish Governments) funding may be used for estates located anywhere within the UK
  • Emergency services
  • Institutions of further and higher education
  • Local authorities
  • Maintained schools within the state education system, including academies, multi-academy trusts and free schools
  • Nursery schools maintained by a local authority
  • NHS Trusts and Foundation Trusts.

A joint application can be made for more than one eligible public sector body. In this case, a lead Applicant should be agreed, who will submit the application on behalf of the group.

For Phase 3, there is no funding cap on the value of grant an applicant can apply for.

The majority of the 2022/23 grant funding has been set aside for projects that need to take place between 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023.

Phase 3 applications must be submitted by the deadline of 3 November 2021 (2pm).

(This report was the subject of a GRANTfinder Newsflash.)