News / Sustainability
£100k in a week for solar share offer
Bristol Energy Cooperative’s third solar share offer has raised £100,000 in just over a week.
As Bristol’s year as European Green Capital draws to a close, the Co-op hopes its share offer will create a lasting legacy that thousands across the region can be part of. Community buildings lined up for solar installations this time round include Brentry Children’s Centre, the SOFA project and Hartcliffe Community Farm, while a solar farm is planned in Lawrence Weston between the M5 and M49 motorways.
“The word community really matters to us in Lawrence Weston,” said Mark Pepper, development manager at Ambition Lawrence Weston. “That’s why we’re pleased to welcome this community owned energy project and the opportunities that Bristol Energy Cooperative’s planned solar farm will give our residents in the long???term. This community-led project will enable the residents to personally own a major piece of infrastructure. We hope that the solar project will become a powerful and inspiring symbol of how far we have come in rejuvenating our local area.”
Pitching the proposition to other potential investors, co-op co-director Andy O’Brien said: “Our current share offer has a triple whammy. Our investors receive a projected 5% return on their investment, and the community gets subsidised green energy. But on top of that, surplus income from the projects will go into a community benefit fund. And if all the projects go ahead and run as projected, £4 million pounds would be paid into that fund over the 25-year project period.”
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