The SunShare Community in Nottingham has raised a record-breaking £500,000 in less than a month for local solar rooftops.
The crowd-funded solar project in Nottingham run by online fundraising platform, Abundance Generation, has raised £500,000 from 337 people in just a couple of weeks.
The solar investment is for rooftop solar installations on 20 community buildings such as local schools, leisure centres and libraries. The project has a 19 year life span, with a fixed return rate of 6.6%. So for an individual investing £950, an annual reimbursement of £50 in returned capital and a profit of £39.93 on top will be received.
The crowd-funding platform accepts investments of as little as £5, offering an extra 2% interest for ‘early bird’ investors. Investments in the project can now be bought as part of a Christmas package.
Nottingham resident Bryan Norris said he would urge others to snap up the investment opportunity after investing £200.
“Simply, it’s too risky to invest in dirty, rapidly depleting fossil fuels these days. Renewable Energy is much more secure, sees better returns and it’s right on the doorstep helping the local community. At over 6.6% IRR it makes more sense than other investments where quite frankly I’ve no idea where my money is going. Within 19 years I expect to get £360 back.”
“We are proud to be leading the democratic finance revolution currently underway in the UK,” said Bruce Davis, co-founder and joint managing director of Abundance Generation.
“The success of SunShare Nottingham is a real vote of confidence both in the sector and in the idea of diversifying investment away from conventional stocks and shares,” he added.
Abundance has previously raised £3 million for renewable energy projects in the UK, and is looking to raise an additional £7 million in the near future.
Abundance investment projects offer investors debentures; a formal IOU guaranteeing a return for the investment, with biannual payments for the lifetime of the project, investors can cash out early or sell their investment.