SME Loan Scheme

Loans up to £100k are available to help you pay for energy and carbon-saving upgrades in your business. You could also receive a cashback grant of up to £30k.

An SME loan can be used to finance the installation of energy efficient systems, equipment or building fabric, including:

• heating, ventilation, and air conditioning upgrades.
• renewable heat technologies such as installing an air source heat pump.
• improving insulation, draught-proofing, double or secondary glazing,
• installing LED lighting.
• installing solar thermal systems, wind turbines and biomass boilers.

Please note, due to the very high number of applications for solar PV projects, the Scottish Government’s SME Loan Scheme is not currently accepting new applications for solar PV projects.

The loan is available to Scottish businesses that fall within the EU definition of small and medium-sized enterprise (SME), not-for-profit organisations, and charities.

Applications for an SME Loan must be accompanied by a qualifying report. Business Energy Scotland’s free energy efficiency or renewable assessments are qualifying reports. You can register your interest in receiving an assessment here.

For full information on eligibility criteria please see further information here.

If you are an SME and installing eligible equipment, you could receive a cashback grant of up to £30,000 for your business.

• 75% of eligible costs up to a maximum of £20,000 can be claimed for energy efficiency measures.
• 75% of eligible costs up to a maximum of £10,000 can also be claimed for a range of renewable heat measures (heat pumps, biomass boilers and solar thermal).

The SME Loan Scheme has already provided Scottish businesses with over £26 million in loans for more than 950 projects.

Check out our case studies to see who is already benefitting.

“The loan was critical in allowing us to go ahead and install our biomass boiler. The support that we received was excellent and made the entire process from application to installation extremely straightforward.”  Sine Davis, West Highland Hotel

For further information and answers to FAQs, click here.

If you have already had an energy efficiency or renewable assessment and it details the project you would like funding for in the recommendations, great news, you are ready to start your application. Please fill in the form below to access the SME Loan Scheme application form.