The clean energy dash >>> projects open new share offers

One of the most high-profile community energy projects was brought to a close due to changes in central government policy:
Futures Forum: Balcombe: community-owned solar park brought to an end by government cuts: "either they haven't got a clue about business, or they are trying to destroy the community energy sector."
Futures Forum: Britain's boom-and-bust in solar power >>> cutting the Feed-in-Tariff and cutting investment in community energy schemes

However, concerted attempts were made to use the remaining window of opportunity:
Futures Forum: The clean energy dash >>> last chance for funding before 30th November

And there are still projects open for funding:

Together, we helped 24 local energy projects go ahead Back in October, people building locally-owned wind, sun and water power were ambushed by a sneaky government cut, giving them just weeks to raise the funds they need. Everyone teamed up to help them beat the clock. Loads of people donated via our Clean Energy Dash campaign, and many others invested directly in the projects. Thanks to people like you, more community energy projects like this one in Scotland can go ahead. And here's the amazing bit. In just a few weeks, the British public poured about £13m into community energy, and 24 projects raised enough money to go ahead. These volunteer-driven projects – often years in the making – are building the clean power we need, and putting the profits back into the local community. Now the government's cut has come into force, new projects will have a much harder time getting financed. Lots of projects have already fallen through, including in our beloved Balcombe - where the community had to pull out of a plan to build a nature-friendly solar park to power the whole village. The future is very uncertain for community energy, but in the last month you've proved what we're capable of, and shown just how much the British public love renewable energy. And that's a story worth sharing and celebrating. And if you didn't get around to investing, don't worry, there's still time! Some of the projects have opened new share offers to top up their fundraising. Together, we helped make this happen. Why not share the great news?

About — The Clean Energy Dash

A dash for clean community energy

UNITED KINGDOM

Article by Rebecca Harvey

23 November 2015

From 30 November, government cuts will stop two tax breaks that have encouraged people to invest in small and growing businesses. In the run up to the deadline, 28 community energy organisations have been brought together in a Clean Energy Dash to help fund as many as possible, before they are derailed.

Under the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) tax relief and Social Investment Tax Relief (SITR), investors can receive 30% tax relief of the cost of the shares (dependent on terms), which made community energy share offers more attractive to large-scale investors. Although new projects will be set up in the future, these will be smaller and less ambitious than those seen previously.

“The tax relief cuts, combined with other policy changes, mean that this is likely to be the last set of large scale community energy projects we see for a while,” says 10:10, the UK climate change charity which is running the Clean Energy Dash campaign and its website, www.energydash.org.

Four of the 28 projects have reached their funding targets recently, but locally owned wind, sun and water power initiatives still looking for investment include the Bristol Energy Co-op, the Edinburgh Solar Co-op and Awel wind co-operative in South Wales.

The minimum amount you can invest in individual projects ranges from £50 to £500, with each project handling its own investment, but 10:10 has also set up a donation system where you can donate from just £5.

All donations to a project will be taken and processed by 10:10, then combined with other donations – when there is enough to meet a project’s minimum investment threshold, 10:10 will invest it in the project as one lump sum. The investment will be in 10:10’s name, and any returns received will help fund their work supporting community energy in the UK.

“The British community energy movement has grown at an inspiring rate over the last few years,” says Millie Darling, community energy campaigns manager at 10:10. “There are now 100s of active community energy groups across the country, and there’s a real appetite to build more too. It is so frustrating to see the government introducing policies which halt this momentum and put a cap on people’s ambition. But together, we can help them hit their targets in time.”

For more information, visit www.energydash.org.

• As with all investments, your capital is at risk when you invest in community energy. There’s no guarantee that you’ll get your money back, so never invest more than you can afford to lose and always consult a professional if you’re at all unsure.

A dash for clean community energy
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