Renewable Energy Generation Relief

With effect from 1 April 2010, as detailed in The Non-Domestic Rates (Renewable Energy Generation Relief) (Scotland) Regulations 2010, relief is available for properties used solely for the generation of renewable heat or power (or both) from the following sources;

• biomass
• biofuels
• fuel cells
• photovoltaics
• water (including waves and tides, but excluding production from the pumped storage of water)
• wind
• solar power
• geothermal sources

Combined Heat and Power (CHP) systems are only considered to be renewable if they use the sources of energy listed above and have an electrical capacity of 50 kilowatts or less.

Relief is available as specified in the table below for those producing renewable heat or power from any of the sources noted above, only if your scheme has arrangements in place that entitle community organisations to;

• at least 15% of the annual profit
• or as much of the annual profit as is attributable to 0.5 megawatt (or more) of the total installed capacity of the project

Levels of Relief

Hydro Schemes

In addition to the above noted arrangements, from 1 April 2018 until 31 March 2032, qualifying renewable hydro properties are entitled to a 60% relief where;

The rateable value of the property does not exceed £5m

The lands and heritages are used solely for the generation of renewable heat or power, or both, from water only*

(“water” includes waves and tides, but does not include production from the pumped storage of water)

There is no requirement for hydro schemes to meet the qualifying criteria relating to community involvement or total installed capacity limits.

Previous Relief Schemes

Please note that lower levels of relief were available prior to 1 April 2018 for hydro schemes and new entries to the Valuation Roll.

Please contact customeradvice@scotborders.gov.uk for further details.

Apply for a reduction

This relief is application based and cannot be automatically awarded.

If you feel you may be entitled, please download and complete the application form below and return it, with any supporting information, to the address shown on the form.

When assessing eligibility for Renewable Energy Generation relief, we also need to consider the following criteria for each business:

• whether the property is in receipt of any other relief
• the level of other public sector assistance received by the business

Subsidy control rules

This type of relief is capped under The Non-Domestic Rates (Restriction of Relief)(Scotland) Regulations 2021 and can only be awarded as TCA de minimus as the activity is commercial in nature and the recipients receive an advantage on a selective basis due to the geographic restrictions that apply.