Community energy group Mongoose Energy intends to launch its energy supply business before the end of the year after plans accelerated in recent months.
Solar Power Portal reported in December that Mongoose was preparing a supply business for late 2016, however the company this morning revealed fresh details of their plans.
A senior management team is currently being assembled and will be revealed later this quarter, while launch tariffs will be announced in Q3 2016 prior to a full launch later this year.
When open for business, Mongoose is expected to become the first energy supplier majority owned by community energy groups and Jan-Willem Bode, chief executive at Mongoose Energy, said the project had “the potential to transform the nature of energy ownership”.
Energy offered to consumers will be sourced from the firm’s renewables portfolio which currently stands at around 34MW. An additional 30MW is also in the pipeline, and Mongoose intends to bring more community energy projects to fruition in the coming months.
“The rise of community energy means that energy generation can be used to bring about positive social change and Mongoose groups are all signed up to this philosophy. We see this as the future for the UK, with profits being retained within the community to re-invest in socially and environmentally beneficial projects that meet community needs,” Peter Capener, chair of Mongoose co-founders Bath and West Community Energy, said.
Community energy suffered the brunt of a number of cuts to government support mechanisms last year, not least the shock Treasury move to make such projects exempt from receiving tax relief under the EIS and SEIS frameworks.
However earlier this year Bode gave his opinion that community energy projects could still be successful, a claim seemingly borne out by developments across the country.
Energy developer Anesco has been one such company at the forefront of the community energy push, bringing to market a number of different sites.