Oldham businesses could get £5k grant for energy bills

SMEs in the borough are invited to apply for a new 'energy efficiency grant' to support the delivery of energy-efficient improvement projects.

Eligible projects include heating equipment upgrades, replacement motors, process efficiency investments, and lighting efficiency.

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A grant of up to £5,000 is on offer from Green Economy, which has been commissioned by Greater Manchester Combined Authority to deliver business support programmes funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund Levelling Up project, to support the local ambition to be a net zero city-region by 2038.

One such example saw an Oldham bakery save almost £12,000 per year with a new freezer that was purchased with the grant.

HM Pasties received support from the Sustainability and Net Zero team and following an onsite review, their advisor recommended replacing the existing undersized and inefficient freezer. 

The business was awarded a grant worth £3,000 towards the cost of a new blast freezer which has helped them save £11,939 per year, from reducing electricity consumption by 54,391 kWh equating to 16.7 carbon tonnes (tCO2e).

Lee Wakeham, director of HM Pasties, said: “We were delighted to receive funding towards the purchase of our new freezer.

"It was surprising to see how this relatively simple fix could help us to increase productivity and save money, whilst also doing our bit to reduce harmful emissions.

"I’d urge any business to engage the Green Economy team to bring a fresh perspective into tackling rising energy costs and the net zero challenge.”

Alasdair Dalzel-Job and SK Electronics (Image: Green Economy)

Another manufacturer in Oldham, SK Electronics, saved £2,749 in energy costs through the grant scheme towards a new processor.

The funding enabled the business to replace its existing inefficient 11kW fixed-speed compressor.

The firm acquired a new variable speed drive unit which included a heat recovery system to divert waste heat from the compressor to the factory.

By upgrading they saved 11380kWh of electricity and 5913kWh of gas which equates to annual cost savings of £2749 and 3.7tCO2e.

Steve Walker, Technical Director at SK Electronics, said: “This grant meant we saw a return on investment on our new compressor within 18 months of installation, reduced from three years if we’d invested without the grant.

"Receiving this funding means we’re able to invest in additional improvements across the business.”

Alasdair Dalzel-Job, Technical Lead at Green Economy, said: “We have seen time and again that the key barrier to net zero for businesses is accessing cash flow and capital investment to take those ‘nice to do projects’ to the top of their to do list.

"This grant presents a real opportunity for businesses in Oldham to prioritise energy efficiency improvements in 2024.

“We have delivered a number of grants for businesses across Greater Manchester over the years, awarding over £1 million to businesses in the city region since 2018.

"This helped businesses to save £2.3 million in overheads, with annual carbon savings of 5,773.63 carbon tonnes.”

The Energy Efficiency grant is available to small and medium enterprises based in Oldham, providing 50 per cent of the cost to deliver projects worth up to £5,000.

To qualify for the grant, projects must specify the scale of CO2e savings expected from the project.

Eligible businesses can find out more about the grant and the application process by visiting greenintelligence.org.uk

If you have a story, I cover all things Oldham from food reviews and local business news to music and events, pubs, education, crime, property, health, community concerns and much more. Please email me at Olivia.bridge@newsquest.co.uk or send me a message on Twitter @Livbridge with your news.