RURAL areas could benefit from millions of pounds of funding that has already helped one school in Alston.

The funding, worth up to £10m, is aimed at helping rural communities become cleaner and more sustainable by generating enough electricity to power the equivalent of nearly 30,000 homes.

The Rural Community Energy Fund (RCEF) has helped Alston Primary and Samuel King’s secondary schools install solar panels.

Over the next 20 years the project expects to bring £70,000 of profit to the school by selling energy back to the grid while saving over 150 tonnes of carbon.

New community projects across England are now being encouraged to apply for feasibility grants of up to £40,000 for green initiatives, including solar battery storage, wind, hydro and geothermal heat projects.

Viable proposals will also be considered for further grants of up to £100,000 for business development and planning applications, as the Government hopes to increase energy self-sufficiency in rural communities and boost jobs in green technology.

Chris Skidmore, energy and clean growth minister, said: “It will take all corners of the country and sections of society to help us tackle climate change on our path to becoming a net zero emissions economy and communities are at the heart of our missions for a greener planet.

“This £10m fund can help sports clubs, churches and schools not only save money and reduce emissions by creating their own clean energy but also make money by selling it back to the grid.”

The RCEF is a £15m programme, jointly funding by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

The RCEF funding, which is managed by five local energy hubs around England, is designed to catapult rural areas into the ‘clean growth’ revolution, helping people living outside urban areas benefit from the income-generating potential of renewable energy.

Communities can find out more from www.gov.uk/guidance/rural-community-energy-fund. Applications for the new scheme will be managed by five regional local energy hubs across the UK and hosted by a local authority in each area.