Wight Community Energy (WCE) has welcomed the finalising of an Isle of Wight Council loan of £1.7 million towards a major Island solar park project at Homestead Farm in Ningwood – which has already been built and will generate enough power for 1,300 homes.
The Isle of Wight Council approved the investment in January of this year, and has now agreed its loan payment following the acceptable completion of due diligence. The project also offers the opportunity for private investors to become involved through a share offer scheme.
The council’s Executive member for economic sustainability, Councillor Ian Stephens, said:
“This loan, which will be paid back to the council after two years with an additional return of more than £200,000, demonstrates the council’s commitment to the environment and renewable energy on the Island. We view it as an excellent investment for the Island – and it has been funded as a growth project from our capital receipts, with the support of the council’s Scrutiny Committee, Executive and Full Council.
“A report into the project, including consideration of the potential benefits and risks, was closely considered by the authority late last year.”
Colin Palmer, chairman of WCE, said:
“I’m delighted the council has come on board to support the Island’s first community solar scheme. This loan is in addition to all the funds raised from over 100 new members and, I hope many more Islanders will join WCE in the final two weeks before the offer ends on June 30th.”
The 3.95MW site is already built at Homestead Farm to the north of Newbridge and will generate 4.68 MWh of power each year; enough to support over 1,300 typical homes. The site’s income through the Feed in Tariff is fixed for 20 years and not affected by recent government moves to reduce tariffs. The income from the sale of electricity is then used to pay interest on members’ shares, with a target of up to a seven per cent return, and to fund the community benefit scheme.
WCE has been specifically established to bring the solar park into community ownership with the support of community energy specialists, Mongoose Energy. It enables islanders and special interest groups to invest in the project including the Footprint Trust, whose Ray Harrington Vail said:
“This is a really good opportunity to invest in something positive and ethical and to use our funds to promote renewable energy and energy conservation. The solar project reflects our values and philosophy and also allows us to put our money where our mouth is.”
Delvin Lane, CEO of Anesco, which built the solar farm, said:
“Community ownership projects like this are a fantastic way of allowing local people to invest in green energy that’s being generated right on their doorstep. I’m delighted that Isle of Wight Council has invested in the site; it is testament to their commitment to the environment and local people.”
With the loan from the Isle of Wight Council the solar park project has now received almost all of the £5.28 million funding required. The WCE community share offer has already seen investment of over £418,000 of the £800,000 available and is still open to local investors through Ethex a positive investment and savings platform.
This local involvement is important as it enables Island residents who invest to become members of the community energy project, receiving not only a projected annual return of seven per cent on their investment, but also having a say in how an estimated £2.4 million community fund will contribute to projects across the Island.
To find out more about Wight Community Energy visit www.iowcommunityenergy.org.
