Zenobe Kilmarnock BESS Community Benefit Fund

About this fund

The Zenobe BESS Kilmarnock Fund provides three type of awards:

1. An annual household energy payment to eligible households near their battery energy storage site.
2. An education & training grant of up to £400 to eligible residents near the site.  
3. Targeted grants to a small number of organisations serving the those living in the wider area around the site.  

This arrangement may change over time.   

The energy payments operate via a registration process. All eligible households have been notified and invited to register. Payments are made annually between Nov - March.

The education & training grants are available to apply for between April – October. To apply you need to be resident in a household most affected by the site’s construction. Further information will be available in April.

The grants to organisations are currently being considered and will be confirmed here before the end of March. 

Purpose of this fund

The Zenobe Kilmarnock BESS Fund provides different types of grants to support individuals, households and community groups around the site of their project.  

The energy grants are designed to relieve hardship and promote the health and wellbeing of residents by mitigating the adverse effects of off-grid energy supply and poor household energy efficiency.

The educaiton and training grants support people to take up and progress through education and training courses to increase their skills and enable access to a wider range of further training or employment opportunities.  

The grants to community organisations contribute to the health and wellbeing of those living in the wider area around the project site.

Who can apply?

The energy grants are provided to eligible households registered for the scheme. The awards to community groups are provided to a small number of active organisations delivering activities in the area. The education and training grants are open to eligible residents who are:

• Aged 16 and over
• On (or applying for) a further/higher education or training course to develop skills and employability

If an eligible applicant is currently employed and wants to take a related course of study their employer is expected to contribute up to 50% of the course costs.  

What can’t be funded?

Foundation Scotland maintains a standard list of exclusions which cannot be funded.  This includes anti-wind farm or anti-renewable energy activities, any activities likely to bring them, Zenobe, Foundation Scotland or the local community into disrepute.  

How are decisions made?

Decisions on the organisations being funded are made by Zenobe. Decisions on Education & Training applications are made by Foundation Scotland.