Background
The City of Glasgow is implementing a Community Renewable Energy Framework (CREF), aimed at increasing the footprint of community-owned renewables in the city. The framework seeks to support communities as they implement community renewable energy projects from initial proposals to delivery, including consideration of persistent challenges that these projects encounter, such as finding suitable land, financing, connections, and navigating the planning process.
Glasgow describes the Community Renewable Energy Framework as follows in the Climate City Contract:
“This initiative aims to support increased generation of energy from renewable sources by identifying a portfolio of sites which are suitable for community led renewable energy development and outlines the process by which communities can work with the Council. This will help the City to decarbonise energy provision, meet our Net Zero Carbon 2030 target, and support and empower communities to take climate action that they can directly benefit from. Work has been undertaken to identify suitable sites that can be marketed to community groups and to address barriers in making sites available for transfer for renewables projects. The Framework was approved by the City Administration Committee in September 2024. Sites have been identified as suitable for inclusion in the Community Renewable Energy Framework and will be taken to Contracts and Property Committee to seek approval for these to be promoted to communities for use according to the CREF. Once approved, an engagement event for communities will be held in late 2024 to launch the sites and framework.”
In Glasgow’s recently revised Climate Plan,
“Support Community renewable energy generation through the implementation of the Community Renewable Energy Framework (CREF)” is one of the objectives noted under the Energy sector. Key partners include Glasgow Community Energy, Local Energy Scotland, Scottish Government, Sustainable Glasgow, and “People Make Glasgow Communities”.
Glasgow City Council has launched the first phase of CREF (Phase 1) in June 2025. The pre-application stage for Phase 1 is complete, with bids on all 4 original sites. A working group, comprised of the community applicants (where identified), Glasgow Community Energy, Local Energy Scotland, “People Make Glasgow Communities”, and the Sustainability team at Glasgow City Council meets monthly to support the applicants through the process. It is evident through the discussions to date that there is limited information on the feasibility of the sites, which is impacting communities’ capabilities to formulate what might be possible. A high-level technical feasibility assessment is underway to set expectations on what is possible on the 4 sites (e.g. space allocations within the sites, complementary or coexisting uses, possible adverse impacts on the surrounding neighbourhood, necessary site work, etc).
At the same time as implementing Phase 1, Glasgow’s Sustainability team is thinking ahead to future phases of CREF which aims to scale the framework, identifying additional sites, exploring financing options and implementation models, and incorporating learnings from cities with similar programmes. Glasgow’s sustainability team is conducting a review of Phase 1 looking at the site selection process, community capacity, technical feasibility studies, CREF process and benefits (communication), the working group approach, and case studies and lessons learned from other contexts. This request for proposals complements the review, aiming to support Glasgow City Council in the implementation of Phase 1 and planning for Phase 2.
About the request
Climate KIC, acting on behalf of NetZeroCities, is requesting proposals for a concept design, supported by contextual analysis and translated into a replicable implementation model and practical guidelines for Glasgow’s Community Renewable Energy Framework, targeted for Glasgow City Council and the other key stakeholders involved in the CREF. This scope of work does not include a site-specific technical feasibility study.
The scope of work should consider:
- The CREF aim and intended outcomes*
- The possibility of various renewable energy technologies in the community-led renewable energy projects. Given the nature of the CREF, the community groups will determine the renewable energy technology to be deployed on the sites, informed by site-specific technical feasibility studies being funded by grant administered by Glasgow City Council separately. Solar PV and potential renewable heat options are anticipated to be the primary renewable energy sources for the CREF sites. Bidders are required to provide governance and implementation analysis that is not specific to certain renewable energy technologies to ensure the framework remains robust regardless of the final technology selection by the community groups.*
- a. Including the possible impacts that the different renewable energy technologies might have e.g. on the governance and implementation model or implementation guidelines.
- Design conditions, constraints, and limitations that could impact installation, such as integration to the local energy systems and the grid hosting capacity (at a high level, as opposed to the site-specific technical feasibility being undertaken separately).
- Spatial planning and landscape considerations, aligning with the CREF’s desire to integrate local renewable energy production to urban areas while also enhancing biodiversity and outdoor space within the neighbourhoods.
a. Including possible adverse impacts on the surrounding neighbourhood (at a high level, as opposed to the technical feasibility being undertaken separately) - The funding and financing landscape, to inform how the community delivery model for the renewable energy projects could be best set up to make use of existing funding and financing options.
- Governance model and partnership structure, critical to the effective implementation and sustained resilience of the community renewable energy projects
a. Taking into account the technical practicalities of offtake of any energy production, challenges of the local building stock / assets, how community groups need to be set up to oversee this, funding landscape, and legislative constraints and opportunities.
* Available background information to be shared at the start of the project by Glasgow City Council on the 4 Phase 1 sites and the CREF, generally, including information from an ongoing review of the process and framework so far. This information will include high-level desk-based upper boundary estimates of total PV production for each site, considerations and assumptions on heat potential from the Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategy, possible uses of the energy, and energy infrastructure details (e.g. district heating network plans). It will be possible to meet with Glasgow City Council stakeholders to clarify information. Glasgow City Council will also be able to provide an overview of the range of community organisations in proximity to the 4 sites, and an overview of the feedback from local organisations to date.
Timeline and additional information
Interested parties are invited to submit their proposals by 7 May 2026 (23:59 CEST Time) to Luisa Carretti and Mateusz Hoffman [CESF@netzerocities.eu]. Proposals should include and address all specific requirements related to the request which can be found below.
