"The impacts of climate change": Geoff

Geoff, from Finstock, has invested in Southill Solar for several reasons. He says he likes that the project is “local and community-owned” and that “profits will benefit local communities.”

However, Geoff is primarily concerned about climate change and what we can do to mitigate its effects.

Climate change worries

He says, “I work in the Department of Geography and Environmental Science at Reading University, with close links to Department of Meteorology. They have been in the vanguard of [climate change] research for many years.”

He’s in an excellent position to understand the environmental benefits that Southill Solar will bring.

5% a year in interest payments + your capital back

Shares in Southill Community Energy will pay 5% in interest a year plus your capital back - take a look at the financial return.

Share offer closes 8 April - still time to act!

Buy Southill Community Energy shares online through Ethex - they are the ethical investment company that handles the share offer. Download our share offer document.

Need more information?

Contact us at any time or call the impartial team at Ethex on 01865 403 304.

"5% a year and a positive social impact": Sue

Sue's invested in Southill Solar. She says, "there aren't many opportunities to make 5% a year on a sum of money AND a positive social impact." Here's why you should invest.

Positive social impact

Southill Community Energy, which is setting up Southill Solar, is a community benefit company which aims to fund local low-carbon projects.

5% a year in interest payments + your capital back

Shares in Southill Community Energy will pay 5% in interest a year plus your capital back - take a look at the financial return.

Share offer closes 8 April - so act now!

Need more information?

Contact us at any time or call the impartial team at Ethex on 01865 403 304.

INVESTOR STORIES| DAN

In which local Charlbury resident speaks of how taking control locally has the capacity to bring about change at a global level.

 

I’m in because I think that community energy is the future - local, renewable and democratic. 

It’s so exciting that communities across the country and the globe are taking control of their own energy generation. Renewable schemes like this one can be a major part of the solution to volatile international energy markets.

And when our so-called leaders say one thing about our responsibility to act on climate change and yet are incapable of putting their money where their mouth is, the obvious answer is to take the power into our own hands.

“The obvious answer is take the power
into our own hands”

It’s true that Southill has been one of the lucky ones to get the higher rate of feed-in tariff before it was slashed. But the fact is that, with the technology advancing and the costs coming down fast, renewables will soon become a no-brainer - with or without government support.

Some people think that these kind of local schemes are reserved for those with lots of disposable income and plenty of time to invest. But the community benefit society is a great leveller. For the minimum investment of £250 you can have the same say in Southill as someone who has invested the maximum £100,000.

As members of Southill Community Benefit Society we will collectively run our own totally clean, green power plant. The rewards will ripple out: from the personal interest payments, to the money available for the community, to the educational potential, to the biodiversity the site will create, to the carbon not emitted.

“To take action locally that, alongside other similar schemes, has a direct effect globally”

To taking action locally that, alongside other similar schemes, has a direct effect globally... Imagine that? It’s a big deal.

Dan lives in charlbury and is a director at new internationalist publications ltd.

Solar Energy | A Safe Bet

Investing in solar is relatively safe and predictable. Solar only needs daylight to generate electricity, a valuable 'commodity'.

Investments in solar show a good rate of return long term and is inflation protected. Als Vowles, technical director at Southill Community Energy, has worked in the community renewables sector for 15 years. As a renewables developer for E.ON and Low Carbon Solar, she has personally led the development of  9 large-scale solar farms. In short, she knows her solar. Here's what she has to say.

Solar Panels at Westmill Solar Farm.

Solar Panels at Westmill Solar Farm.

How renewable energy investments work

In talking to potential investors at various events recently, one of the queries that came up time and time again was around whether or not an investment in solar is particularly risky- not because it's an investment per se (all investments come with some level of uncertainty) but because solar - the sun itself - is 'unpredictable', which therefore imbues solar with an extra level of volatility.

It has highlighted a real 'lag' in understanding in how renewable energy investments actually work.  So I set out to write down why, generally speaking, investment in solar is in fact comparatively safe and predictable, with specific reference to the set up of our proposed site at Southill, Cornbury Park.

Solar only needs daylight

Firstly, solar photovoltaic panels only need daylight and not direct sunlight or heat to generate electricity. In Oxfordshire where Southill Solar Farm is based, we have done a calculation based on the amount of solar radiation hitting the site and its potential to convert this to electrical energy. This figure or “yield” is affected by the panel’s geographical orientation (due south in this case), the module inclination or tilt, the module quality and any losses that it succumbs to as the power is converted via an inverter from direct current to alternating current – the type we need to supply to the grid. The figure that has been chosen has been produced by a specific type of industry report and one that has withstood careful scrutiny by the banks. 

Solar panels have an excellent lifespan

The other thing that we have to take into account when we calculate risk is the panel degradation figure, which is widely understood to be 0.4% per year. This degradation figure has been incorporated into our business model.

Furthermore, unlike many other technologies, there are no "moving parts" in the solar farm and so there is a low risk of anything going wrong. Once the panels are installed and generating electricity, they should continue to do so each day from sunrise to sunset as they stand in the field catching the daylight.

We have also signed up to an annual Operation and Maintenance Contract to carefully monitor the site’s performance on a daily basis. This will make sure that any faults are quickly identified and easily corrected. 

Electricity is a valuable commodity

The site will of course be generating electricity which is an extremely valuable commodity. Unless there is a significant change to the way that energy is generated and used over the next 25 years, it is likely that energy will continue to be in high demand and so we should continue to get a good price for the power. 

Why pension funds love renewables

The low risk nature of solar investments can be demonstrated by Pension fund investment. Pension Fund Managers have been quick to identify the long term predictable income of solar investments and have invested in solar schemes across the UK as a great match for their commitments. An example of this is Lancashire County Pension Fund which invested £12 million in the Westmill Solar Farm in 2013.

Solar investments enjoy a good rate of return over the long term and are inflation protected and so, as well as doing good for the environment, it can be argued that they are superior in financial terms to a traditional high-carbon investment. 

The sun WILL rise tomorrow

So, as long as we continue to believe that it will get light and it will get dark, day in and day out, for the next 25 years – we should see a consistent amount of electricity produced by the site making an investment in solar,  a safe bet.

This is your chance to invest in solar

There is still time to join us and invest in Southill Community Energy. Share offer closes 8th April

Als Vowles, March 2016

"If we all just do a little bit": Jody

Jody's investing in Southill Solar. She says "the best way to combat climate change is if we all do our little bit - and hopefully I'm doing my bit!" Join us - help make a difference.

Help combat climate change

Southill Solar will generate enough green electricity to power 1,100 home for 25 years. We manage the land to create a environmental benefits - and habitat for rare British plants and animals. We will generate about about £30,000 a year for local community projects. Then, when 25 years are up, we dismantle it, recycle what we can and return the land to its former state. What's not to love?

Do your bit! Share offer closes 8 April - act now

Need more information?

Contact us at any time or call the impartial team at Ethex on 01865 403 304.

Why this Fund Manager & CEO is investing in Southill Community Energy

Ben Peters is a Fund Manager & CEO at Wise Investment, and Charlbury resident. Wise provides investment management and financial advice for individuals, and manages a range of investment funds. Read his business and personal reasons for investing in Southill Community Energy. 

Wise Investment was founded twenty four years ago in Chipping Norton. We continue to be based in the local area, and will remain so for decades to come. As I look out to the next quarter of a century, I wonder how we will responsibly resource our business. What better way to do that than to back a project that will provide carbon-free energy, generated locally?

Ben Peters, CEO Wise Investments

Ben Peters, CEO Wise Investments

As a business backing Southill Community Energy we don’t just get the knowledge that the electrons powering our lights and computers have come from green sources. We will also get a financial return over the quarter century life of the project. Our mindset for our clients’ investments is long term, we intend to serve our clients for the long term, and the investment in SCE matches those beliefs. It is a necessity of running our business that we hold long term capital, and making a positive investment with a portion of that makes financial sense for us.

For a local enterprise the investment in SCE doesn’t stop at green energy and financial returns. We value the fact that the community has allowed us to build our business in the area. Indeed, many of our clients are locals. As a business that looks after other people’s money, you might say we have a vested interest in ensuring that the region remains prosperous!

“It allows us to have our cake and eat it, to generate financial returns for us, and help to improve the community”

The setting up of SCE as a Community Benefit Society thus adds a third attractive element to the proposition. It allows us to have our cake and eat it, to generate financial returns for us, and help to improve to the community. All within one straight forward investment.

On a personal note, my wife Harriet and I have individually invested in the project. Our children, Rose and Bea, attend Charlbury Primary School and we all enjoy the positive community in which we live. The outputs of green energy, investment return and benefits to the local community are as attractive to us as individuals as they are to Wise. In the very long term the beneficiaries of all of this will be Rose and Bea, and their children.

I think that’s an investment worth making.