Somerset solar plant to light 55,000 bulbs

Investors in a £1.1 million community solar plant in Somerset celebrated it official opening earlier this month. The majority of the shareholders are from the local area and were attracted by a small investment threshold of £250 and a desire to help reduce their community’s carbon footprint.

Every year, the solar plant off Quab Lane will save 450 tonnes of carbon dioxide that would otherwise be produced through the burning of fossil fuels. It will generate the same amount of electricity as 300 standard domestic solar arrays and feed it into the local grid. Sheep will be able to graze on the grass underneath the solar panels, and there will be new hedges of native species planted in the next few weeks to help screen the site.

Some of the profits from Co Operatives will be invested back into the local community for local charities and organisations in the form of grants. There has been more than £810,000 invested so far in the Co Operative, and there is still £140,000 worth of shares available as well as 7 year bonds on offer.

The Co Operative received a bridging loan which has allowed the completion of the solar plant to be ahead of schedule. There were several incentives for investor which included a projected interest rate start at 5% and averaging at around 9.5% over the 27 year life of the project with 30% tax relief available under the Government’s Enterprise Investment Scheme.

Co-operative secretary, Robin Mewes said, “We are delighted to have opened our solar energy plant, enabling our community to reduce its carbon emissions and take control of its energy production, thus becoming more resilient.”

He added, “Even in November, the system is powerful enough to run 55,000 light bulbs or more than 1,100 microwaves all at once.”