The North East Community Energy project partners VONNE, Northern Powergrid and Community Energy England, supported by the Project Development Steering Group, are seeking an organisation or partnership of organisations to take forward the development work carried out to date and apply for ERDF funding to deliver a strategic level project to significantly scale up community energy activity in the North East - the North east Communiyt Energy (NECE) project.
As part of the development work for the ERDF bid and business plan, the important issue has been raised of which organisation will be best placed to be the applicant and accountable body for any ERDF grant secured for the delivery of the NECE project. Previously considered options of NECE as a new organisation being its own accountable body or another organisation acting as lead applicant/ accountable body on behalf of NECE as a new organisation, have now been dismissed. The NECE partners and steering group are now pursuing the following options:
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Public sector organisation as accountable body e.g. local authority or university
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Voluntary sector or private sector organisation as accountable body
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Public/ voluntary/ private sector organisation as accountable body leading a partnership bid with other organisations.
The NECE partners and steering group are seeking an established organisation with the financial capacity, and track record of ERDF delivery, to take on the role of applicant and accountable body to help secure and manage the ERDF grant and then deliver the NECE project.
The proposal is to ‘hand over’ the NECE ERDF project proposal and development work carried out thus far + small amount of remaining consultants’ time to a partner organisation or organisations to then take forward and apply to ERDF Low Carbon funding programme and seek the required matched funding. We would hope that the resulting accountable body for the NECE project would continue to engage the NECE steering group in the development and delivery of the project.
An overview of the potential areas of work/ strands of activity can be viewed here: http://www.vonne.org.uk/community-energy
Initially we would like organisations to register their interest in this opportunity by email to Carol Botten at VONNE by Friday 4th December carol.botten@vonne.org.uk
If organisations would like to propose that they lead only on a specific element of the NECE project – delivery strand or geographical area, or a project at a reduced scale, and/or whether they would consider working in partnership with one or more other organisations, it would also be useful to have this indicated at this point.
Dependent on the level of interest, VONNE and NECE partners Northern Powergrid and Community Energy England will then carry out a more formal EOI procedure which would be launched on Monday 7th December with a deadline for responses of Tuesday 15th December.
For further information on this opportunity, please read the accountable body briefing note or contact Carol Botten at VONNE on 0191 2332000 carol.botten@vonne.org.uk