Sustainable Production Grant (SPG), a realistic alternative support mechanism to the feed in tariff?
A capital grant support package is now open to expressions of interest from farmers, landowners, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), voluntary organisations and co-operatives, involved in primary production of agricultural products.
The SPG Scheme aims to provide capital investment in facilities and equipment that relate to:
- animal health and welfare
- crop storage
- production housing and handling
- renewable energy production
- soil and crop management.
Grants can range from a minimum of £16,000 to a maximum of £400,000 to increase on-farm investment, production, and resource efficiencies to improve technical performance.
The maximum grant rate for any individual investment project is 40% of the total investment cost, regardless of the size of the enterprise and location.
This scheme may be of significant interest to those considering installing an on farm renewable energy scheme, especially where the alternative and applicable feed in tariff rate is now very low, and where the energy produced from the scheme was envisaged to be used “on farm”. There may be schemes which had been cancelled or postponed following the sudden adverse FiT changes that may now be worth reconsidering in light of the availability of this potential capital grant.
Potential applicants are urged to submit an expression of interest (EOI). This is a competitive process and not all applicants will succeed on first attempt. Baileys ad Partners LLP can assist in the process of submitting an EOI on your behalf, as well as assessing whether the SPG can provide a realistic alternative to the FiT in relation to your proposed on farm renewable energy scheme.
Please contact us for an informal discussion on the SPG in the first instance.
