Great British Energy Community Fund to announce new round in summer 2026

A new round of the Great British Energy Community Fund, the grant scheme that helps communities get local clean-energy projects off the ground, is widely expected to open in the summer of 2026.

The fund, previously known as the Community Energy Fund, is run by Great British Energy, the publicly owned company set up in 2025, and delivered across England through the network of regional Net Zero Hubs. Two application windows ran across 2025 and into 2026 before the scheme paused. But now, Great British Energy has confirmed that two funds will open for applications, and regional Hubs are already encouraging groups to start preparing.

The next round is expected to be quite similar, with one notable addition for local authorities: the Partnership Grant.

What the fund covers

The grant pays for the early development work that turns an idea into a scheme an investor will back; it does not pay for the kit itself.
Funding comes in two stages:

• Stage 1 - up to £40,000, covers feasibility: the legal, financial, and practical groundwork, including community consultation, landowner agreements, and risk mitigation such as planning and grid connection.
• Stage 2 - up to £100,000, covers development for projects already shown to be viable, including planning applications and a robust business case to attract investment.

Great British Energy is also looking at a Stage 3 capital grant to support projects at the construction stage. Confirmation of this is expected over the coming months.

Who can apply, and the new Partnership route

Applications must be led by legally constituted community organisations: town and parish councils, charities, sports clubs, faith groups, community interest companies, and similar bodies. Any resulting project should be designed to be at least 50% community-owned.

The addition for this round is a Partnership Grant, aimed at local authorities that want to take a project forward as the lead recipient, working alongside a community energy group. The grant stages and amounts are expected to mirror the main fund.

Where the development questions get difficult

The work the grant funds is often where projects tend to stall. Landowner Heads of Terms, grid connection queues, planning constraints, and a business case that stands up to investor scrutiny are development problems just as much as energy ones. A feasibility study is only as good as the assumptions underneath it, and reacting quickly to obtain a thorough picture of land, valuation, and risk is what separates a scheme that reaches Stage 2 from one that fails to.

What to watch for next

The timing has not been formally confirmed, so the summer date remains an expectation rather than a fixed opening. The other open question is the Stage 3 capital grant, which would change the calculation for any group weighing up whether to commit now.

If you would like to discuss the Great British Energy Community Fund or any of our service lines, complete the form below and a member of the BTG Eddisons team will be in touch.