Selection Panel Decisions

SELECTION PANEL DECISIONS - FURTHER INFORMATION FOR APPLICANTS

This section summarises Selection Panel decisions applicants need to take into account to make sure they meet all the latest requirements.

Applications for the maximum grant amount (£50k)
If you are submitting an application for the maximum grant of £50K it should be noted that we would expect an exceptional application which fully addresses each of the criteria detailed in the project concept and design documents. In particular, we would look for strengths in the Community Involvement, Establishing Need and Public Profile and Promotion sections.

Match- funding
Any project that has carried out their own fund raising and/or have a diverse range of match funding will be considered stronger applications.

Technology and regional focus
We are particularly keen to receive more applications for projects in the East Midlands, London, North East, North West and Yorkshire and the Humber regions, as proportionally we have had fewer applications from these areas so far.

Any PV-only application must stand out, and it will be scrutinized on the following:

1. A thorough options appraisal.
2. Justifications regarding the size of the PV system to be installed.
3. Evidence of own fundraising efforts
4. At least a 10% reduction in energy bills and CO2 emissions.
5. PV applications from deprived areas will be given priority

The Selection Panel may limit the grant to a maximum of 25% of the total eligible costs.

This decision was taken following an influx of Photovoltaic (PV) only applications from southern regions. Please refer to the Programme Statistics on the website for a regional and technology breakdown of all applications received and awarded. As a result the competition for grants supporting PV only applications in the south is very intense.

Given this high degree of competition and in line with the programmes overall objectives, the selection panel has put a process in place to make sure the funding pot does not favour any particular technology and is spread fairly across the regions. This means should a decision be required between two similar projects the technology type and/or location might be the deciding factor, especially if a large number of similar projects have already been awarded funding.

We would like to stress that the Selection Panel makes every effort to support applications in all areas, however in general we do not have enough funds to support all the applications we would like to. This is reflected in the total amount applied for in the latest funding round (March 2009) where we received applications worth £2.4 million, of which £0.83 million were awarded. The programme statistics also show that the percentages of funds allocated match the proportions requested within each region and per technology.

Last update 7th April 2009.