Brighton is set to see the first of a number of community-funded domestic solar under Abundance Generation and Padero South Downs innovative debenture scheme. The two companies have combined with the simple premise of allowing people the opportunity to invest in providing other people with a source of free, renewable electricity.
The proposed debenture is expected to provide investors with an expected return of 6-7.8 percent over 20 years through associated feed-in tariff payments from Government. The project is committed to spending a minimum of £500,000 on installing solar arrays across many homes in Brighton and the surrounding area.
Commenting on the community scheme, Bruce Davis, Cofounder of Abundance said: “Following the announcement by finance giants, Aviva and Munich Re, of massive investment in renewable energy projects, Abundance is thrilled to be opening the door for the general public to benefit from renewable energy returns too. We call it democratic finance – making it possible for anyone to invest with as little as £5 to receive very attractive regular returns previously unavailable to anyone but the wealthy.”
Abundance has been welcoming investment from all demographics of society on its website who wish to support the scheme. Investment has ranged from just £5 to £10,000 and from people aged between 23 and 80 years old.
One such investor, Oran Burke, from Brighton said: “Having invested in Peer2Peer and renewable energy companies in the past, the Abundance model fits with the small scale, community benefitting project I prefer to invest in.
The Padero South Downs solar project has an expected return which is higher than many other investments available at the moment, particularly savings accounts and while there is more risk than leaving money in a bank, it’s much more satisfying to have a view of how it’s being used.”
Currently, Abundance is offering a special “early bird bonus” to subscribers which will see the annual management fee reduced by up to 15 percent for the life of the debenture.