Wedmore Community Power Co-operative, the group behind plans to construct a 1MW solar farm serving the community of Wedmore in Somerset, has launched its share offer in order to raise the capital it needs to further develop the project. Shares went on sale on June 13th and through the share offer the group hope to raise £800,000 to cover construction costs with each share priced at £1 with the total sum payable in full upon application. The minimum subscription is 2,500 £1 shares with a maximum level of 20,000 shares and the offer closes on 25th July. It follows a previous pioneer share offer that successfully covered the groups £150,000 marketing costs. The group’s board may consider extending the offer and applications may also be scaled back if the offer is over-subscribed.
The ultimate aim is to develop a solar farm in two paddocks to the north of the village thus reducing the community’s reliance on the national grid. The solar farm will consist of around 4,000 solar PV panels saving around 450 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year and equivalent to around 300 domestic solar panel installations. Excess energy will be exported to the national grid attracting an income from Feed-in Tariffs (FITs).
Specification details are not available at present but the solar plant will reflect proven performance with a minimum 10-year product warranty. Inverters are likely to be from the Power One Trio TL range because of the manufacturer’s solid financial footing and proven track record. The panels will probably be mounted on the German SFLEX mounting system and the plant as a whole will be screened by hedgerows consisting of native hedging plants. The panels will also be set at a height that permits the grazing of livestock thus retaining the grazing value of the land.
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