Welsh energy co-operative Egni Co-op has launched a share offer to raise £750,000 to finance a rolling programme of solar installations until March 2020 – the largest rollout of rooftop solar in Welsh history, according to the co-op.
Egni has secured the Feed in Tariff (FiT) subsidy for rooftop solar panels on over 250 sites in Wales, which will have an installed capacity of over 5,000kW. The sites include businesses, community centres, universities, leisure centres, schools, a brewery and golf, football and rugby clubs.
The team behind the share offer has already successfully delivered 179kW of rooftop solar on seven sites during Egni Co-op’s first share offer in 2014. They also developed Awel Co-op, raising over £3m from community shares, and built a 4.7MW community wind farm, which was commissioned in January 2017. In conjunction with charity, Awel Aman Tawe, these initiatives have won multiple awards.
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Those who take up the share offer will receive a projected 4% return on their investment. All the sites will receive green electricity at a reduced price, thereby lowering their running costs and carbon emissions, and Egni will have the capacity to expand its education and awareness-raising programme. The co-op has already secured £307,000 of finance from existing co-op members who have given their backing.
Egni director, Rosie Gillam, said. “We are delighted that Egni’s community share offer is now open and we invite you to invest in rooftop solar power across Wales. Now that climate change is so high profile, this is an opportunity for Wales to take the lead and for as many people as possible to get involved in this co-operative effort.”
“Egni Co-op has secured FiT for rooftop solar panels on over 250 sites in Wales … Our sites include businesses, community centres and universities; golf, football and rugby clubs; a brewery, leisure centres and schools.”
Dan McCallum, Egni’s chair, said “Forty percent of all UK applications to Ofgem were submitted by Egni, which is based in Cwmllynfell. This is a remarkable achievement by our staff and will help us in our ambition to solarise Wales.”
Further information is available at www.egni.coop or by email: admin@awel.coop.
