Renewable Energy Generation Relief Scheme

The Renewable Energy Generation Relief Scheme provides non-domestic rates relief of up to 100% to renewable energy producers who are solely concerned with the production of heat or power (or both) from the following sources:

• Biomass.
• Biofuels.
• Fuel cells.
• Photovoltaics.
• Water (including waves and tides, but excluding production from the pumped storage of water).
• Wind.
• Solar power.
• Geothermal sources.

Rates relief will only apply if the property is used for a project which gives to a community organisation, in return for investment in the project by that organisation, entitlement to a sum equivalent to at least 15% of the annual profit of the project; or if the property is used for a project which gives to a community organisation, in return for investment in the project by that organisation, entitlement to a sum equivalent to so much of the annual profit of the project as is attributable to 0.5 of a megawatt of the total installed capacity of the project (or more). For properties where the rateable value is between £145,001 to £4 million the relief will vary from 50% to 10%.

A community organisation has the same meaning as in article 11 of the Feed-in Tariffs Order 2012, as amended by the 2015 Order, which is:

• a registered charity; or
• a community benefit or co-operative society (as registered under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014); or
• a community interest company (issued with a certificate of incorporation under section 36B(1) or 38A(1) of the Companies (Audit, Investigations and Community Enterprise) Act 2014, as amended; or
• a subsidiary (as defined in section 1159 of the Companies Act 2006), wholly owned by a charity.

A community organisation must have 50 or fewer employees and in the case of a subsidiary the parent company must also have 50 or fewer employees.

How to apply

You can download an application form for Renewable Energy Rates Relief from the 'Related Downloads' section of this page.  The application form also provides additional information on the relief available.