High energy bills can be a cause for concern when it comes to your budget and carbon footprint. Switching to energy efficient solutions can help reduce this, but with increasing budget pressures, making the switch is a luxury most schools can’t afford.
Salix, a not-for-profit organisation, helps remove this obstacle by offering interest-free loans to schools and academies who wish to reduce their energy consumption.Salix has funded over 15,500 projects to date, supporting 1,800 organisations in the public sector by enabling the installation of modern, energy efficient solutions that replace out-dated, inefficient technologies.
What do they offer?
Salix provide interest-free loans to maintained schools, academies, and trusts to support improvement projects such as:
- Cavity wall insulation
- Heat recovery systems
- LED lighting installation
- Building energy management systems.
Support for maintained schools
Two funding programmes are available for schools through Salix: Salix Energy Efficient Loans Scheme and the Recycling Fund.
The Salix Energy Efficiency Loans Scheme allows schools to borrow the money to purchase equipment which will generate savings. The savings are then used to pay back the loan over the course of a few years until it is completely repaid. This means the schools carbon footprint is reduced immediately and the school will benefit from lower energy bills. Once the loan has been repaid they can use the savings in other areas and further increase school improvement.
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The second programme, the Recycling Fund, is a “ring-fenced” fund where the school provides a set amount of money which Salix will match with an interest free loan. This loan is then repaid into the fund from the savings made by the projects, and goes towards further energy efficiency projects that will provide additional savings, hence, a “Recycling” Fund. The school continues to benefit from the savings they accumulate once the project has been fully repaid.
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Support for Academies and Trusts
Salix also offer an annual round to academies looking to modernise their energy systems. The Salix Energy Efficiency Fund (SEEF) provides financing for academies through an interest-free loan which is paid back through predicated savings in energy use.
The SEEF also works in connection with the Condition Improvement Fund (CIF), if academies applying for the CIF funding apply for a project that has an energy saving aspect to it, then they may apply for a Salix loan to pay for part of the CIF bid. This loan then improves the value-for-money score on the CIF assessment criteria which improves the chances of your applications being approved. Click here for further information.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Each academy can apply for one SEEF bid alongside 2 CIF bids as long as they are different projects.
Application Criteria
There are two main criteria to think of when applying for a SEEF loan. First, the project must pay for themselves within 8 years, and second, the project must not exceed a maximum cost of £200 per tonne of carbon dioxide.
If your project exceeds this however, you can find extra funding from other sources and apply for a partial SEEF funding.
If you need help when apply for this funding, or if you would like to speak to someone who is experienced and skilled in this department, click the button below to contact one of our bid writers who work on a no win, no fee basis.
