Decarbonisation Project Design and Development Grant: guidance

This guidance has been provided alongside an application form for the Decarbonisation Project Design and Development Grant (“development grant”).

The funding is available to all primary public sector bodies that report Public Sector Net Zero Reporting. It is intended to support revenue spending on professional, implementable and third-party decarbonisation design and development support for public sector owned buildings.

Objectives

The Welsh Government appreciates that upfront spending on project development is a barrier to accelerating decarbonisation of the public sector estate. This grant will part fund design and development work that supports the pipeline of decarbonisation projects.

The objectives of the Decarbonisation Project Design and Development Grant are:

• to enable reduction of carbon emissions as part of the drive towards achieving public sector net zero
• to support locally owned renewable generation
• to create a pipeline of mature investment-ready projects that would be suitable for securing finance within 2 years

The grant is only available to public sector bodies; however, we encourage the use of community enterprises to help deliver the design and development work, and the resulting capital project.

Key details

The grant supports 50% of invoiced design and development cost.

The maximum award per application is limited to £50,000.

An application of £100,000 or above can receive the full £50,000 grant, however all costs above £100,000 will be required to be covered by the applicant.

All design and development work must be deliverable by 31st March 2026.

Open to public sector organisations only.

Application timescales

The window for applications in this round is 1 September to 10 October 2025 inclusive. 

We may close or extend the application window depending on the volume and scale of applications received. 

Application form

Please make an application using the excel form: Decarbonisation Project Design and Development Grant: application form | GOV.WALES

Each application may include multiple sites and technology projects. Each form allows for up to 10 sites, 4 named projects, and 5 contractor quotes.

Up to two applications may be submitted per organisation. However, in the interest of fairness, second applications may be given a lower priority to any first application. 

Please submit evidence including contractor quotes to support your application, these should be emailed alongside your application form. 

Assessment 

Applications will be assessed on scale of decarbonisation potential, supporting information provided, deliverability of designs and development work, investment readiness of the project after support.

Early applications will be assessed and may be awarded during the application window. All applications received within the final 2-weeks of the window will be compared on merit for award.

Submitted application forms must have all relevant sections complete and supporting information attached. Failure to do so may result in your application being rejected. 

Clarification meetings may be required with applicants. These may occur anytime during the grant scheme.

Organisation

This funding is open to all principal public sector organisations that report their emissions for Public Sector Net Zero Reporting. This includes:

• local authorities
• health boards, trusts, and special health authorities
• universities
• colleges
• fire and rescue
• national parks
• other public sector organisations such as:
  • Transport for Wales,
  • National Museums Wales,
  • Natural Resource Wales,
  • Arts Council Wales,
  • and other Welsh Government Sponsored Bodies

Ineligible applicants include:

• town and community councils (unless via a local authority for emissions included within the local authorities annual public sector net zero reporting)
• Welsh Government departments
• public sector organisations not submitting to the public sector net zero reporting
• police (as not a devolved public sector organisation)
• community entreprises (however, the public body may wish to engage a community enterprise for the works)

Type of design and development work

The following is a non-exhaustive list of the type of design or development work we are willing to support.

• RIBA stage designs
• Planning permissions
• DNO related design and development costs
• Project procurement support
• Surveys, tests, and exploratory development works

We are willing to support organisations taking various approaches to contracting the design and development works:

• Consultant design engineers or Owners Engineer (a further procurement needed for supply/install contractor)
• Turn-key contractors: a contractor continuing to undertake later supply/install works
• Community enterprises: developing the project for a public sector organisation and continuing to supply/install

Eligible technologies / project costs

The following is a non-exhaustive list of the type of technology / project costs for which we would support eligible design or development work.

Technology solutions including:

• ground mounted renewables (solar farm / wind turbine / hydro) via private wire to a public sector site (including new developments with private wire, or new private wires only from existing renewable assets)
• site based renewable generation connected 'behind the meter' (e.g. roof-mounted PV, solar canopies / carports)
• battery energy storage systems ('behind the meter')
• electric vehicle charging infrastructure (must include public sector fleet or staff use, but may be public use also)
• low carbon heat solutions (e.g. heat pumps and enabling measures)
• heat networks around a single site/campus (e.g. a large secondary school campus)
• HVAC system upgrades
• building fabric improvements
• enhanced building controls and metering/monitoring (where a specific decarbonisation opportunity has been identified)

Other project costs including:

• planning permission support costs and associated technical designs, stakeholder engagement costs and assessments (e.g. ecological surveys)
• DNO grid application development work and fees (excluding grid connection upgrade charges, as these should be capitalised)
• structural surveys
• asbestos surveys (if required in project specific area)
• onsite temporary monitoring
• test boreholes for potential ground source heat pump systems
• legal advice such as for contracting, community sector joint ventures, or power purchase agreements

Ineligible technologies / project costs

The development grant will not support funding for:

• any solely grid connected projects
• District Heating or upgrades to existing district heat networks (unless solely for Welsh public-sector building connections)
• new building or major refurbishment design and development for major capital works
• DNO grid connection upgrade charges
• internal salaried staff costs
• recoverable VAT – applicants will need to manage this cash flow aspect appropriately where VAT is paid in one financial year but recovered the next. Note: we expect all VAT to be recovered
• operation and maintenance plans
• Energy Performance Contract – feasibility and Investment Grade Proposal costs that can be capitalised

Please contact the e-mail address provided for queries on any design or development work eligibility.

Award

If successful a notification award will be sent and following this a Grant Offer Letter will be issued. 

The Grant Offer Letter should be signed within 10 days of its receipt. To accept the grant, an appropriately senior person will need to sign the letter and provide bank details. 

Money can be spent from the date of the initial notification of award.

Progress reporting

There will be requests for progress reports or meetings throughout the grant period. 

The Energy Service must be notified via email regarding any material changes to the approved project e.g. change in scope, deliverability within the financial year, or required grant value.

Grantees are required to provide access to operational staff for interviews or surveys, respond to requests for case studies and press releases, and agree to reasonable requests to share learning and insights. This includes, but is not limited to, sharing design and performance information, supporting site visits, and sharing case study information and photos.

Claims

We expect the majority of grantees to make a single claim, however for more complex projects up to two (2) drawdowns can be made throughout the financial year as part of your agreed grant offer.  Funds should be drawn down in arrears, as and when costs are incurred. Payment requests will be made using a claim form.

Applicants must follow claiming standards specified by the Energy Service. This includes provision of PDF invoice evidence to cover 100% of the project costs (of which up to 50% will be funded). Templates of the required claiming documents will be provided to applicants upon signing the Grant Offer Letter.