A COMMUNITY-owned solar energy company generating benefits for the environment and local people is opening up a share offer.

The Tamar Energy Community hopes to raise £336,000 by October 31 to support its solar roofs portfolio across the Tamar Valley and beyond.

Co-ownership of the solar arrays will provide those with shares the opportunity to gain a fair return on their investment – as well as supporting low carbon energy generation to the benefit of local schools and businesses.

Tamar Energy Community (TEC) is a not-for-profit Community Benefit Society, operating for the benefit of the Tamar Valley and surrounding area in West Devon and East Cornwall.

Funds raised via the share offer will repay some of the existing loan funding that was secured to fund initial installation costs of the solar panels. Investors will be granted membership of TEC, giving them the opportunity to get involved in shareholder voting and having a say in the future running of the community

The share offer is set to be marketed nationally from Monday (Sep 28) and anyone with an interest is encouraged to find out more before then, to enable as much benefit as possible to be retained locally.

In 2016 and 2017, TEC installed six arrays of solar PV panels on the roofs of local schools and businesses in the area. These Solar Roofs generate over 250,000kWh of solar electricity per year - the equivalent to the annual energy demand of around 70 average UK homes. In addion, the electricity generated by the Solar Roofs is expected to displace over 230 tonnes of CO2 per year. 

Surplus income from the solar energy generated from the installations is reinvested into the community, through TEC’s community benefit fund, with a projected minimum of £5,000 per year. TEC’s first round of community grants has already been deployed to local Energy Hardship Funds to provide support to households during the COVID-19 crisis.

At Carbeile Junior School in Torpoint, headteacher Pete Hamlyn said: “Our community solar has enabled us to save 50 tonnes of CO2 to date and provides an everyday example within the school of the benefits of renewable energy. We’ve been able to invest the savings on our energy bills into other areas of the school.”

“The community benefit contribution to our Hardship Fund is also particularly welcome at

this time.”

To find out more about the Tamar Energy Community and the share offer visit www.tamarenergycommunity.com/projects/community-solar-share-offer/.