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Steve, John and Richard from Sharenergy visited Nenplas a couple of weeks ago and we were very well received by the CEO, financial director and accountant.

They were given a full tour of the factory which was reported to be extremely interesting. 

‘’The CEO and directors are very keen to reduce their carbon footprint in anyway they can.’’

Says John Taylor Board Member

A board meeting was held in February to make some decisions on the proposed installation in partnership with DDCE.

‘’The mood at our meeting was very positive and I think that we all came away with the impression that things would progress.’’

We are all hoping this turns out to be a great partnership going forward !

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.

DDCE are pleased to announce that we are now partnering with Big Solar Co-op: they will raise finance, install solar panels on buildings and manage them for the lifetime of the solar panels.

The Big Solar Co-op are a cooperative like us. They are a not-for-profit, carbon-first and volunteer-led organisation. They already have a community share offer in progress and our local community members will be able to invest in their share offer.

DDCE now have three local sites where Big Solar Co-op have issued a proposal: these sites represent 746kWp of installed capacity, and we also have a number of other sites that we are continuing to work with. By investing in Big Solar Co-op, you will be able to support the installation of solar panels on these sites.

Big Solar Co-op has already raised over £700,000 from more than 250 investors and the share offer has been extended until 10 December 2022 – so there isn’t much time left to put your money to work for positive change.

• Minimum investment £100 
• Target annual return 4%
• Investors become members of the Big Solar co-op
• Read our share offer document 

Big Solar Co-op are running a zoom meeting on how their share offer works, and answer any questions you may have.

Date: Thursday 1 December
Time: 12.30 to 13.30
Zoom Link: Join here

You’ll be welcome to ask questions during the session, but if you want to submit your questions in advance, please email them directly: info@bigsolar.coop