Government launches £10m Low Carbon Communities Challenge

Mon 28 September 2009 View all news

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has launched a £10m competition aimed at local authorities, charities and social enterprises to encourage low carbon initiatives to take place at the community level. The Government says that entries to the Challenge could range from a local biomass plant to retrofitting homes to electric car charge points. 

Twenty successful community-based entries to the Challenge will each receive support to pay for real measures selected by the local residents themselves. In return for technical and financial assistance, people living and working in the area will work alongside government and contribute to finding low carbon solutions from which the whole country will benefit. Successful outcomes from the project will pave the way for a national roll-out of proven measures.

The Low Carbon Communities Challenge will have a specialist 'support squad' made up of partners with funding and expertise from inside and outside government - including The Energy Saving Trust, The Carbon Trust, WRAP and the third sector - who will work together with each community to offer help on anything from negotiating in planning debates to identifying personalised low carbon answers. 

The Challenge was announced earlier this summer as part of the Government’s Low Carbon Transition Plan. It is scheduled to start in January 2010.

For more information see the Government press release available via the adjacent link.

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