Get a whole year of cutting-edge eco-building news for just £24.00 pa.
Built upon 30 years of experience, this fabulous new medium will feature inspiring and in-depth articles on eco-building projects from across the spectrum and from all over the UK, most of which are written by the very people that designed or built them. Perfect for architects, builders, developers, self builders and anyone interested in keeping right up-to-date with green building trends and friends.
For subscription options:
please go here
|
|
|
Green investment scheme provides 'free' electricity |
|
 
|
|
|
|
8 Feb 2013, 9:33 PM
|
A green investment initiative designed to develop low carbon energy projects is inviting people to become members of the Society by investing between £500 and £20,000 into the share offer. The initiative will help to alleviate fuel poverty in 240 homes of the highest areas of fuel poverty in the UK – Newport, Wales.
|
The 'Gen Community' has been established to promote mutual ownership through the deployment of low carbon technologies. Arising from the failure of the financial markets, and dominance of the 'big six' energy companies, Gen Community works to alleviate fuel poverty and combat social issues.
The continued increases in energy prices, compounded by the Government’s cuts to welfare spending, will lead to more and more households experiencing the misery of living in fuel poverty. This is a turbulent time for organisations working to assist these people. There are an estimated 7 million households in the UK suffering from the wretched consequences of living in cold, damp homes.
The organisation is a pioneering mutually owned community benefit society, set up to help tackle these growing social and economic failures.
The legal form is a Community Benefit Society (CBS) – an Industrial & Provident Society (IPS), run for the benefit of the community to provide services to people other than its members.
Cathy, retired and from Scarborough, investing in the Newport Solar Share Offer said:
“I’m in Greenpeace and have never bought a share in my life before. My roof is not south facing, but I want to contribute. Given the low returns on offer at the banks, I am happy to make an investment.”
The group have raised £205,000 from 75 investors to date and have a pledge offer to cover any shortfall between the current amount, and the minimum threshold of £390,000, on the extended offer close date of the 25 February 2013.
In addition to this, they are at the committee stage and able to receive debt investment, from social impact intermediaries, into the Newport Solar Share Offer. The debt investment will result, if approved, in additional qualifying fuel poor houses receiving the solar PV installation, and an increased community benefit fund.
The Newport Solar Share offer is still open to the UK public to become members of (‘The Society’) by investing between £500 and £20,000 into the Share Offer. Qualifying high net worth individuals or sophisticated investors can invest more than £20,000 and up to a maximum £250,000. Advance assurance for EIS relief from HMRC has been approved.
A fully subscribed offer (£1 million raised) is projected to reduce annual fuel bills by around £38,000 per annum in the Newport area, delivering 631 MWh of electricity and leading to a reduction of approximately 271 tones of carbon dioxide per annum.
For investing members the projected returns are 7 per cent per annum, with a 75 per cent share buy back over the lifetime of the project, which with Enterprise Investment Relief (advance assurance has been granted) results in a projected 10.22 per cent internal rate of return.
For benefit members of the scheme, i.e. qualifying households in fuel poverty, ‘free electricity’ is received when the panels are in use. The panels are gifted to the occupiers at the outset of the project, taking effect at the end of the 20-‐year period. With an inverter replacement priced in, each householder should have at least 10 years of usable life left in the equipment, post the twenty-‐year period. This in effect, mitigates energy prices rises for the next 30 years for an estimated 25 per cent of each household electricity bill.
|
|
|
|
