Funding Options- NEW Carbon Efficiency Financing Scheme and Salix

> Carbon Efficiency
Financing Scheme

A new scheme replacing the Carbon Trust Interest Free loans is being brought to both public and private bodies in April 2011. As from the 28th March 2011, all interest free funding has come to an end and will be replaced by the Carbon Efficiency Financing Scheme. The scheme is to be presented by both the Carbon trust and Siemens Financial services.

The scheme allows companies to borrow money from £1000 to a potentially limitless top end to help companies find the capital to carry out low energy projects within their companies. The funding is no longer interest free, but will impose interest of between 6 and 9% depending on the project.

How will this type of funding benefit my company?

Previously, companies have been able to benefit from interest free Carbon Trust loans. However, as the perameters changed in terms of the amount the Carbon Trust would loan to how much Carbon you had to save, the loans didn't neccesarily cover the complete costs of a project leaving companies with a shortfall to fund themselves. This could sometimes be up to 25% of the total project cost. The new scheme allows companies to have full projects covered by the loan scheme but in turn has interest charges on the loan sum. This can be easily worked into the return on investment calcuations and may increase the return on investment period slightly.

> Salix Funding

Salix Funding

Salix offers funding in the form of interest free loans and conditional grants for Public sector bodies that are trying to make energy saving changes to their environment. As pressure to reduce energy consumption on companies both private and public increase, funding schemes are becoming one of the most viable options for real change.

Salix offers funding in two ways:

1) Public sector bodies can receive match funding for low energy projects. Savings that are accrued as a result of the positive changes made, are then recycled into the organisation for other low energy projects. Once all potential low energy projects have been fulfilled using this type pf funding, the amount muct then be paid back to Salix.

2) Much in the same way that the Carbon Trust allocated interest free loans, loans can be awarded to public sector bodies for a single low energy project, where the monthly energy savings directly pay back the loan.