A new scheme has been launched to help businesses across the Marches meet the cost of switching to Green energy.
The Marches Renewable Energy Grant Scheme can help small and medium sized enterprises across Herefordshire, Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin get a 50 percent grant towards installing renewable energy sources.
Project manager Adrian Marshall said grants would be awarded only for new installations under the scheme, which is being managed by Herefordshire Council and supported by the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership.
Mr Marshall said the scheme had been designed to be as straightforward as possible and covered a range of renewable technologies including wind power, solar energy, air-sourced heat pumps, ground-sourced energy supplies and biomass.
"This grant scheme offers a real opportunity for businesses across the region to switch to sustainable and renewable energy supplies by meeting half the cost of installing these new technologies on their premises.
"There is no maximum grant, but installations are expected to be in the range of 4 to 200kWp. Eligible applicants include statutory and non-statutory public funded organisations/bodies, higher and further education institutions, voluntary community organisations, private sector companies and not-for-profit organisations."
Gill Hamer, director of the Marches LEP, said the scheme would help the Marches meet its ambitions to increase the use of renewable and green energy sources.
"This scheme offers real financial help to businesses across our region to plan for the future by making their energy supply as sustainable and efficient as possible," she said.
The first grant award has already been made to Frank H. Dale Ltd of Leominster. The major structural steelwork fabricator received a 50 percent grant award for roof mounted solar panels to help reduce energy costs and the environmental footprint at the company's new state of the art production facility in the town.
Director, Steven Dale, said: "Our business sector has extremely tight margins and therefore any gains that can be found like this are worth a lot both in competitiveness and help with investment. We see the fact that this particular investment also reduces our carbon footprint as a real positive."
Councillor Trish Marsh, Herefordshire Council Cabinet member for Environment, Economy and Skills, added: "I am delighted that Herefordshire companies and organisations are able to benefit from the Marches Renewable Energy project which forms part of the council's commitment to combatting climate change and working towards a zero carbon economy."
The scheme, which is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, is now inviting expressions of interest from companies, who must be based within the Marches area.
For more information about the project, visit www.herefordshire.gov.uk/MarRE or you can email EEM@herefordshire.gov.uk or call 01432 260064.