Would you like to support renewable energy and the long-term development of local food and other community projects? Do you have a little money available to invest?
We are excited to announce the extension of the new share offer providing the opportunity to invest in small-scale renewable energy – the offer is still open until 31 January. £22,000 has already been invested but there is still time to join in this initiative if you wish to. Download the share offer document here.
The share offer is from GREEN (Growing Resilient Energy Efficient Neighbourhoods), the new cooperative society which Organiclea has helped set up (along with other local partner organisations (HEET home energy efficiency project, the Hornbeam and Forest Recycling Project) as a community fund for investing in projects which address social and environmental justice issues in East London. This offer relates to GREEN’s first project which is the installation of solar panels at Organiclea’s Hawkwood Plant Nursery.
The share offer document contains an invitation to people in East London and beyond to invest in the withdrawable share capital of GREEN. We are seeking to raise approximately £30,000 to invest in a community-owned renewable energy project in northeast London. This project will benefit from the UK Government’s feed-in tariff for solar photovoltaic installations and will provide a financial and social return on the investment.
All prospective investors should read the whole of the share offer document and should be aware of any risks they are taking in making an investment. They should also refer to the rules of the GREEN co-operative, which are available here.
Further information about community investment is available at www.communityshares.org.uk.
If you still have any questions after reading these documents, then please email Nicole on nicole[at]organiclea.org.uk
**Please note the new closing date of 31 January 2012 **
Background
Organiclea took over the lease of the 12 acre Hawkwood site in Northeast London in January 2010 to develop a community-based organic market garden and learning centre. One of our visions for the site – alongside the rows of sweetcorn and the buzz of many people working on the land – has been to have an array of solar panels on the big flat roof of the warehouse. If we could provide our own renewable energy source we would increase the environmental and economic sustainability of our community food growing work.
Thanks to the current feed-in tariff for solar power this vision could now become a reality – and one that you can play a part in if you wish to! We have linked up with local partner organisations (HEET home energy efficiency project, the Hornbeam and Forest Recycling Project) to launch a community fund for investing in small-scale renewable energy, with solar panels on the Chingford warehouse roof as its first project.
The government has just lost its appeal to bring forward the cut-off date for reducing the feed-in tariff, so this project (installed by 3rd March) will benefit from the full tariff rate and is an exciting community investment opportunity and a viable financial proposition. The way it works is that your money is an investment with a modest financial return, not a gift or donation, and you will be a shareholder and part-owner in the projects, giving you the opportunity to participate in democratic decision-making about how the money is spent.
