The answer
What needs to happen before the CARES deadline?
The current fund page expects projects to be completed and funding claimed by 15 March 2027, but it also says individual grant offers may set a different date depending on the funding source. Plan against the deadline in your signed offer. Leave time not just to install equipment but to obtain permissions, commission it and submit the evidence required to claim.
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Which date applies to your group?
Local Energy Scotland's current public timetable points to 15 March 2027. Because the fund has more than one funding source, it warns that the formal offer can have a different deadline. Do not build a contract around the web-page date after you have an offer letter. Check the start-work, completion, claim and payment conditions in that document, and ask the funder about any unclear date before you sign.
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What must happen before installation?
A survey and design need to become comparable installer quotes. Your committee may need to approve its own funding contribution. A rented building may require landlord permission; solar or heat pumps can also need network or planning steps. Put each dependency on one timeline with a named owner and a latest sensible decision date. Equipment delivery is only one of several possible bottlenecks.
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What happens after the equipment works?
Allow time for commissioning, certificates, final invoices, photographs and any evidence of payment or outcome the offer requires. A finished heat pump or solar array does not automatically mean the grant claim is complete. If the scope, price or programme changes, ask the funder what needs approval rather than assuming the original offer still covers it.
Can your committee see a realistic path to the claim?
Build a one-page project programme with five gates: your group's eligibility and building documents, a survey and agreed scope, comparable quotes and committee approval, permissions and installation, then commissioning and claim evidence. Name a person responsible for each gate and the date it must be resolved. This is more useful than pencilling in an installation week and hoping everything else catches up.
If the timeline becomes tight, ask what can happen in parallel without breaching fund conditions. Gathering bills or clarifying the lease can happen while a survey is arranged. Ordering a grant-dependent system before the formal offer is different; Local Energy Scotland says funding is only confirmed after the signed grant offer, and retrospective work is excluded. Check your own offer before authorising payments.
A late network response, an unexpected roof defect or a changed quote may alter the approved scope. Ask the funder how to handle that change rather than assuming the grant follows the new plan. If the project cannot be completed and documented by the deadline in your offer, the responsible decision may be to revise its scope or ask for guidance—not to rush an unapproved installation.
What to check next
Your next steps
Where we checked the facts
Check the original information.
These official pages back up the rules and technical details above. They can change, so check them again before spending money or starting work.
Apply this to your own property
Could your community building be suitable?
Tell FLO about your building and the work your group is considering. A free survey checks what may fit; Local Energy Scotland decides CARES eligibility and funding.