Fingers crossed, by the time you read this, or any moment now, our long awaited and much anticipated third share offer will be just about open for applications. As winter reluctantly softens into spring and the early bulbs thrust themselves into flower, it’s a good moment to think about renewal and all things green. Which means it’s just the right time to be launching a new renewable energy project.
We’ve called our third share offer ‘Solar Power for Schools’ because the money raised will allow us to put solar panels on six schools just to the west of the Nadder Valley, providing them with cheaper electricity and reducing their carbon footprint. As with our two previous projects, NCE will own and maintain the installations, earning income from selling the generated electricity, whilst the schools will be able to use any savings on better facilities and materials for educating their children and young people.
Working with the Sherborne Area Schools Trust, we’re hoping to raise up to £325,000 for panels on all six designated schools. The share offer, at £1 per share, is open to anyone aged 16 or over and investors can put in as little as £100 or as much as £50,000. Our target rate of interest is 5%, which is on a par with, or better than, many current investment opportunities. The period is 15 years, although regular portions of each investment start to be repaid from year 3 onwards, and larger sums can be withdrawn in exceptional circumstances subject to the approval of the directors. Investors can also name a beneficiary in their Will to receive their shares (if the recipient is 16 or over) – which is rather a good way to get young people involved in an ethical long-term investment.
Oh, and because Nadder Community Energy is a not-for-profit organisation, any surplus income goes into our Community Benefit Fund to be spent on environmentally friendly local projects. All in all, we hope you’ll see our third share offer as a win-win-win-win investment. Good for the schools and their pupils, good for investors, good for local communities and good for the planet.