Engineering news
A community owned 4.1MW solar array in Plymouth has launched its third share offer in a bid to raise £1.23 million
The array will generate the equivalent energy to meet the annual needs of 1000 homes and approximately £2,900,000 in community benefit funds. It has been built with short term construction finance from Leapfrog Bridge Finance, to ensure it could be completed in advance of forecast subsidy cuts. To keep the array as a long-term community-owned asset, they are now refinancing it, with a combination of a loan from Plymouth City Council and community shares.
PEC Renewables said: "Anyone over 16 years can now ‘co-own’ some of this solar project by buying shares. Shares cost £1, with a minimum investment of £50 and a maximum investment of £100,000. A target interest of 6% is offered on investment." The first two share offers by Plymouth Energy Community (PEC) raised more than £1.4 million.
Two community organisations, Four Greens Community Trust (FGCT) and PEC Renewables (sister company of PEC) teamed up in 2015 to bring a former landfill site, located between a sewage treatment works and MOD armament site in Ernesettle, to build the city’s largest solar farm, generating clean energy and long-term funds for the community that own it.
The solar array, dubbed ‘Ernie’, started supplying clean energy to the grid on 22 March 2016.
Alistair Macpherson, chief executive of PEC and PEC Renewables said: “Switching on Ernie means we have smashed our target to deliver 5MW of new clean energy generation, 3 years early! These are hugely challenging times for the renewables industry – government’s systematic dismantling of support for solar power and community energy meant this was a ‘now or never’ project. To deliver a scheme of this scale is a huge achievement.”
A range of organisations worked to get the scheme running, including Community for Renewables CIC, Pfalz Solar, Foot Anstey, law firms Francis Clark and Stephen Scown and Pure Leapfrog, an investor in community energy projects in the UK.
“We have had tremendous support from forward-thinking partners at Plymouth City Council” said Dave Garland, chairman of PEC Renewables, “they recognise the benefits of investing in community assets like this and we are working with them to finalise a long-term investment opportunity, to complement our community share offer.”
With a range of services helping residents to reduce their energy use and a portfolio of 32 community-funded solar roofs in the city, PEC and PEC Renewables looks to change the way people buy, use and generate energy. The 1500-member strong group has said its goal is to establish a community energy ownership model that’s financially sustainable; delivering returns to investors, clean energy solutions and profits that are invested into other local fuel poverty and energy projects.
Councillor Chris Penberthy, cabinet member for co-operatives and housing in Plymouth, said: “We are hugely impressed by the enterprise PEC Renewables has shown to get this project completed against the odds. Ernesettle Community Solar is now generating value from otherwise derelict land, and creating the potential for a long term community owned asset.”