We are delighted to announce that we are now partnering, as one of 4 regional community energy nodes, with Big Solar Co-op so that we can begin our ambitious decarbonisation programme by installing solar panels on some of our portfolio of sites in Matlock and the Derbyshire Dales. Instead of raising capital funds to install and manage solar panels on our sites, this will now all be handled by Big Solar Co-op who have already raised nearly £750K, a proportion of which will ramp up our decarbonisation ambitions in Derbyshire. The Big Solar Co-op are a cooperative like us: a not-for-profit, carbon-first and volunteer-led organisation. Importantly they also take the issue of sourcing ethically manufactured solar panels from organisations very seriously: hence they currently use European manufacturers who use hydro powered processes rather than carbon intensive ones.
By working with Big Solar Co-op our collective ambition by 2030 is to install 100MW of rooftop solar along with engaging 250 active volunteers across 25 local groups. Big Solar Co-op will also create 10 new sustainable jobs along with creating a range of ethical, accessible social investment opportunities raising £25m. They anticipate this will save over £300,000 annually on fuel bills for community buildings and social housing.
We have already identified three local sites where, along with Big Solar Co-op, Derbyshire Dales Community Energy Ltd has issued a proposal for solar panel installation to the site owners: these sites represent 746kWp of installed capacity, and we also have several other sites that we are continuing to work with to evaluate their suitability. We are aiming to get over 1MWp installed hopefully next year.
Big Solar Co-op already has a community share offer in progress and by investing in this share offer you will be able to support the installation of solar panels on these sites. Investing in the Big Solar Co-op helps to support a genuinely exciting and innovative new model for community rooftop solar – cutting carbon and reducing costs for large energy users across the UK. Big Solar Co-op has already raised over £700,000 from more than 250 investors and their share offer has been extended until 10 December 2022. There is a minimum investment of £100, a target annual return of 4% and investors become members of the Big Solar co-op. For more information please read their share offer document.