Sport NI Renewable Energy Fund now open
Sport NI have opened their Renewable Energy Fund today, a £1million pound National Lottery investment for 2023/24 which seeks to reduce the environmental impact of sports clubs throughout the province.
The Renewable Energy Fund has several objectives:
- To reduce the environmental footprint of sports clubs.
- To reduce carbon emissions at sports clubs.
- To contribute to a more sustainable sports club network.
- To create a ‘greener’ sports club sector.
- To save on utility bills and reduce costs, enabling sports clubs to redirect resources back into their clubs/sport.
Sport NI are interested in taking forward the following types of energy projects within sports clubs:
- Solar Energy Systems (and ancillary equipment).
- Air Source Heating Systems (and ancillary equipment).
- Ground Source Heating Systems (and ancillary equipment).
- Sustainable Water Recycling Systems.
- Fixed Floodlight Upgrades (Specifically upgrades to LED Bulbs and Connection to Grid).
In 2023/24 the Renewable Energy Fund will operate as a ‘pilot programme’. As such, the ‘pilot programme’ will not apply scoring criteria and applications will be selected at random.
Information and Guidance material can be found on the Renewable Energy Fund page on Sport NI’s website.
Some key points to consider
- Projects must be completed by 31st March 2024
- Each club must submit an Environmental Sustainability Survey to be an eligible applicant
https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/819d7b1539084e378fdf386dc7ddafdb
There are two stages which successful applicants must go through:
- Project Development Phase – procure an energy consultant to undertake an energy audit. Need minimum of two quotes. (50% of costs up to £3k)
- Project Delivery – Sport NI and club agree a project based on the recommendation of the energy audit. Again, the project costs will require two quotes (80% of costs up to £30k)
This fund will close on Monday 30th October 2023.
