Everyone can now invest in Plymouth's green future

Plymouth City Council is supporting the Plymouth Energy Community to pioneer the city’s first solar share scheme to drive investment in green energy.

Plymouth Energy Community (PEC) is a members co-operative run by local people.  It was established in 2013 with support from the Council to give residents in Plymouth the power to transform how they buy and use energy.

PEC is now enabling residents to invest in local renewable energy. This involves installing solar panels on community buildings which convert the energy from the sun into a green source of electricity. Twenty sites, including Victoria Road, Montpelier and Stoke Damerel primary schools are set to have the panels installed which will help cut their energy bills and carbon emissions.

In addition PEC will be paid for the surplus electricity that is generated as they sell it back to energy suppliers as part of the Government’s Feed-In Tariff. PEC will use these funds to pay interest to community shareholders and deliver further projects that tackle fuel poverty and climate change in Plymouth.

To support the Council’s Greener Plymouth commitments and aspirations to become a brilliant co-operative Council they are providing a loan of £500,000 from their Investment Fund to help get the scheme off the ground.

Local residents and businesses have the opportunity to ‘co-own’ some of this solar business by buying shares.  Shares cost £1 with a minimum investment of £50 - up to a maximum of £20,000. A return of up to 6 per cent is being offered to investors who may also qualify for tax relief through the Government's Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS).

Dave Garland, local resident, founder member, and Director of Plymouth Energy Community added: “Generating renewable energy through solar panels is really exciting for Plymouth and for PEC.  This is the third initiative to have launched since the creation of the co-operative and it really shows that Plymouth is thinking outside of the box.”

Councillor Mark Lowry said: “This is a pioneering and innovative scheme with many benefits and Plymouth is leading the way! Not only will the scheme pay out interest every year to its shareholders of up to 6 per cent which will generate an income, it also provides tax relief under the national Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS).

“This is a great opportunity for local residents and businesses to invest in the city and I would recommend that anyone interested in purchasing shares should read the PEC Renewables prospectus carefully and seek independent financial advice.”

This work builds on the existing council funded programmes of renewable and energy efficiency already planned on its buildings across the city.  In total the Council and PEC plan to deliver over 1 Megawatt of new local owned renewable energy equipment by the end of the year.
 
Those interested in finding out more about the solar share offer can register to receive further information by visiting www.plymouthenergycommunity.com/invest or by calling 01752 477 117.