Residents and businesses across Kent are to be offered membership of Kent Community Energy and a stake in a fully operational 5MW solar farm near Sittingbourne.
The people of Kent are being offered the opportunity to join a new local green energy community and help advance local sustainability.
While full details are still under wraps, Kent Community Energy (KCE) revealed today they will be inviting businesses, organisations and individuals across Kent to become shareholder members in an exciting new local community energy scheme.
The money raised from a share offer to be launched later this year, will fund the transfer into community ownership of a fully operational 5MW solar farm near Sittingbourne which has the capacity to power the equivalent of more than 1,400 homes. Local small-scale investments will be very welcome and all shareholder members will have a say on how the company is run. Any profits from selling solar power to the National Grid will be added to a community benefit fund for supporting sustainability and biodiversity projects across the county.
“Not only will our shareholder members own a stake in an established green energy asset, they should receive a fair return on their investment and be part of a progressive community energy project,” says KCE Chair, John Partington.
The Kent scheme will be one of four UK community energy share offers to be launched under a single umbrella later this year on the ethical investment platform Ethex. KCE expects big demand but will be encouraging applications from across Kent to reinforce the community aspect.
“There is a real appetite for green and ethical investments and we hope to add an exciting community energy aspect for Kent,” says Partington.
Anyone interested in receiving more details about this community green energy scheme can register their interest for free from today and be among the first to receive the detailed Share Offer Document when it is published, later in the summer.
“We really want to engage with anyone who wants to join us and help us decarbonise Kent,” says Director, Dan Watkins.
“This share offer is also about shared values,” he says.
Find out more or register at https://www.kentcommunityenergy.org/ or email info@kentcommunityenergy.org.