Large-scale PV Demonstration Project

A £20 million budget was allocated in 2002 to provide grants for the Major PV Demonstration Programme with the objective of preparing a secure platform for long-term and sustained growth of PV. The funding level was increased by £5 million in February 2004, £6 million in September 2004 and £0.75 million in April 2006 taking the total available to £31.75 million. The additional funding allowed the programme to run until March 2006, with final grants claims having been submitted by 30 April 2007.The scheme closed on 31 May of 2007. Around £31.75 million was allocated to the scheme. Two types of grants have been made available:Stream 1 Grants are small-scale individual applications (between 0.5kWp and 5 kWp) that target households, small and medium-sized businesses and public and community groups such as schools. Different grant amounts apply to building mounted and integrated PV systems: Building mounted systems grants were provided for the lesser of £3 000/kWp or 50% of total eligible costs. Integrated systems grants were provided for the lesser of £4 250/kWp or 50% of total eligible costs. The programme operated on a first come first served basis with funds being allocated almost automatically provided the proposed installation met certain basic criteria.Stream 2 Grants attracted applications from housing groups, private developers, local authorities, large companies etc and were operated through a quarterly competitive call where criteria such as cost, level of integration, innovation and geographical location were taken into account. The grants were for medium to large scale applications (between 5kWp and 100 kWp). Grants covered: up to 55% of eligible costs for public bodies, up to 50% of eligible costs for small to medium sized enterprises and up to 40% of eligible costs for large companies.