Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES)

The Scottish Government is looking to commission a new contract for its Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES) which supports communities across Scotland to participate in, and benefit from, the energy transition.

The Scottish Government will hold an in-person information event on Friday 7 June in 5 Atlantic Quay, 150 Broomielaw, Glasgow, G2 8LU. The information event will be an opportunity to hear more about the CARES requirements and the Grant Fund Manager Dynamic Purchasing System. The time of the event will be confirmed in due course when the number of organisations wishing to attend the event is known. To register your organisation’s attendance please complete the form in the link below:

forms.office.com/e/170WzCSUJM ↗

A maximum of two people from your organisation can attend, this may be reduced to one person depending on the number of organisations wishing to attend. The registration form will close on Friday 31 May at 12pm. The information event agenda and attendance instructions will be shared with registered organisations by Tuesday 4 June.

Please note that due to the Scottish Government’s external visitor procedure we cannot accept attendance registrations after 12pm on Friday 31 May.

Communities are at the heart of our renewable energy ambitions and community energy has the potential to play a pivotal role in a just energy transition. We are committed to working with partners to continue to grow the community energy sector and ensure the delivery of renewable energy comes with benefits for people in Scotland, as well as supporting progress towards net zero.

CARES provides advice and funding to communities across Scotland looking to develop renewable energy, heat decarbonisation and energy efficiency projects. The scheme will continue to support a wide range of projects including heat decarbonisation, community owned energy generation, community shared ownership and helping local communities to invest in commercial renewable energy projects.

The appointed Service Provider will be responsible for the effective and efficient delivery of all business and operational requirements of CARES, including but not limited to; providing tailored advice and support to communities; providing bespoke funding support; the implementation, delivery and administration of grant and loan funding schemes; providing technical, legal and financial advice to communities; and the administration and recovery of all existing and new loan repayments.

The Scottish Government intend to source the CARES requirement via the Scottish Government’s Grant Fund Manager Dynamic Purchasing System. More information on how to apply to be on the Grant Fund Manager Dynamic Purchasing System can be found using the following link:

www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/001598-2024 ↗

To be eligible to tender for the CARES requirement organisations must be registered on the Dynamic Purchasing System prior to the launch of the CARES Invitation to Tender. Please complete your application to the Dynamic Purchasing System as soon as possible. Please note that the Scottish Government’s Dynamic Purchasing System application review process will take a minimum of 10 days. Only organisations registered on the Dynamic Purchasing System on the launch date of the CARES Invitation to Tender can tender for the CARES contract opportunity.