Bigger loans available for energy-efficient equipment

BRAMMER, the maintenance, repair and overhaul equipment specialists, are urging SME businesses to act quickly to take advantage of an increased allocation for interest-free loans, made available recently by the Carbon Trust.

The Trust has doubled the maximum size of its interest-free Energy Efficiency loans from £100,000 to £200,000 and increased the overall annual amount available for loans by 45% to £31 million.

According to Brammer, this represents an outstanding opportunity for SMEs to implement energy-efficient projects and enjoy reduced energy consumption and improved profitability, while also helping reduce their carbon emissions.

‘The increase in the Carbon Trust’s Energy Efficiency loans fund means there has never been a better time for companies to take a fresh look at all of their machinery and equipment – and see if their operations are really as energy efficient as they could be,’ said Jeremy Salisbury, head of marketing at Brammer.

‘We can offer manufacturing companies impartial technical advice on energy-efficient products and undertake ‘energy audits’, producing recommendations that will result in reduced energy consumption, deliver cost savings and help to reduce a company’s carbon footprint.

‘Given that increased interest-free loan funding is now available for the purchase of energy-efficient equipment, getting expert advice and preparing a rapid application for a share of that fund should be a priority for almost any SME manufacturing business, particularly given the current economic climate, which can make obtaining credit elsewhere more difficult.’

Changes to the funding rules mean that whereas in the past, loans were usually offered towards part of the cost of the new equipment, projects which can deliver the necessary carbon savings will now be eligible for loans for a greater proportion or even the total project cost.

Jeremy Salisbury added: ‘Even companies that are already serious about reducing energy usage can benefit – areas such as the use of unnecessarily large motors and ineffective use of resources like compressed air, all contribute to unnecessarily inflated bills, and often an independent view is the only way to identify this type of wastage.’