Community-owned energy infrastructure has been boosted today (May 15) by a new share offer launched by Bristol Energy Cooperative and Triodos Bank UK.
Although this is Bristol Energy Cooperative’s tenth funding round, it is the first time the organization has partnered with Triodos Bank. Bristol Energy Cooperative hopes to leverage increased interest from ordinary investors in green energy and community energy independence to raise £1 million.
This will be used to add a further 1MW of solar energy to the co-op’s portfolio, powering almost 300 homes over the next 25 years and channeling around £130,000 into community projects through revenue.
Founded in 2011, Bristol Energy Cooperative is working to build community-owned clean energy infrastructure.
Since its inception, the organization has brought 20 solar and battery energy storage projects online, adding 12 MW of energy capacity to the grid at peak. In recent years the community organization has developed several major projects, including installing solar panels on the roof of its newly renovated Bristol Beacon site.
The target interest rate for the equity offering is 6% per annum; the actual rate paid will vary depending on Bristol Energy Cooperative’s performance.
CEO of Bristol Energy Cooperative, Helen Martin, said: “We have come a long way since Bristol Energy Cooperative was founded, and in that time the need for a cleaner, fairer energy system has only increased. That’s why we have big plans to scale up our work to tackle the many challenges facing our society, and we need the help of investors to realize these ambitions.
“Our investors will actively help tackle the climate crisis, increase energy independence and strengthen local communities.”
Whitni Thomas, head of corporate finance at Triodos Bank UK, added: “We have been a proud supporter of community energy for many years and are pleased to be working with Bristol Energy Cooperative as such an innovative organization in this area.
“We are finding that the investors using our crowdfunding platform really ‘get’ the cause and are behind community-owned renewables, so we expect they will have plenty of interest in backing this equity offering.”
This article first appeared in our sister publication Current±.
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