General criteria
The Renewable Scheme offers residents of the District an interest-free loan of up to £4000 towards the cost of installing a household renewable technology system such as a solar hot water heating system, a small-scale wind turbine or a ground source heat pump. It is available to all home owners and private landlords within the South Derbyshire District providing that neither the applicant, nor their spouse:
- have been made bankrupt within the last 5 years
- has had a County Court Judgement made against them within the last 5 years
There are several other conditions, which have been put in place to ensure that you receive the most comprehensive service and advice regarding your renewable technology installation.
Quotes
You will be required to obtain and submit at least 2 quotes (although the Council's preferred option is 3 quotes) for the cost of the installation to the Council, indicating which quote you prefer. Should the Council feel the quote that you have chosen is particularly high, they reserve the right to decline the loan application unless a new or revised quote is submitted. This is to make sure that you are receiving the best deal on the cost of your installation.
Quotes will only be accepted from installers who are installers accredited by the Low Carbon Buildings Programme, and (if solar hot water engineers), the Solar Trade Association. Lists of all installers accredited by these schemes can be found at www.lowcarbonbuildings.co.uk and www.greenenergy.org.uk/sta.
If you do not have access to the Internet, please contact the Energy Officer who will be able to provide copies of both lists on request.
Low Carbon Buildings Programme
It is a stipulation of the Renewable loan scheme that all applicants must apply for a Low Carbon Buildings Programme grant. Please see the Low Carbon Buildings Programme section of this pack for further details.
Data recording
One of the reasons that you may be thinking of installing a renewable energy system is to help reduce the amount of energy from fossil fuels that you use in your home for heating and hot water, lighting and running appliances. To help us with our research into renewable energy and climate change, we would ask that everyone who has an interest-free loan under the Renewable scheme records data of their energy consumption and submits it to the Council so that they can use them in future climate change initiatives. Recordings from your meter need to be taken on at least a monthly basis during the period of your loan and can be submitted to the Council using the fuel meter monitoring form.
It is not a condition of the loan that these readings are submitted, however the information is invaluable to our work and as such, an incentive will be offered to the any applicant who submits a complete set of monthly recordings for the duration of their loan. If all readings have been submitted over the loan period then the applicant will receive an energy efficiency goody bag containing a range of energy efficiency and renewable energy goodies. It should be noted that if any recordings are missed you will not be eligible for this offer.
Contact Details
South Derbyshire District Council
Energy Officer
Civic Offices
Civic Way
Swadlincote
DE11 0AH
Tel: 01283 228719
email: energy@south-derbys.gov.uk
page ref: SDDC 138