Bristol Energy Cooperative, a well-established energy cooperative, has launched a new share offer withTriodos Bank UK that hopes to tap into the growing interest from everyday investors to support green energy generation, local communities and energy independence.
The share offer is Bristol Energy Cooperative’s tenth raise, and it’s the first time that the organisation is working with Triodos Bank UK. The share offer will be available on the bank’s crowdfunding platform.
Bristol Energy Co-operative was established in 2011 with the aim of building community-owned energy infrastructure. Over the past 13 years, it’s invested £13.4 million in 20 solar and battery projects online with a total peak capacity of 12 megawatts, and directed £400,000 into community projects.
Its most recent projects include rooftop solar installations on the newly refurbished Bristol Beacon music venue and The Bottle Yard Studiosfilm and TV studio facility.
With this latest crowdfunding campaign, the organisation aims to raise £1 million, which will allow it to keep developing innovative new clean energy projects and add an additional 1MW of solar energy to its portfolio. These projects will power nearly 300 homes over 25 years, saving 1,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions and directing an estimated £130,000 into community projects through revenue.
CEO of Bristol Energy Cooperative, Helen Martin, said: “We’ve come a long way since launching Bristol Energy Cooperative, and in that time the need for a cleaner, fairer energy system has only increased. That’s why we’ve got big plans to scale up our work to help meet the many challenges our society faces head on, and we need investors help to achieve these ambitions.”
“Our investors will be actively helping to tackle the climate emergency, increase energy independence and strengthen local communities.”
Minimum investment in the crowdfunding offer is £100, with a maximum investment amount of £100,000.The target interest rate is 6% per year, the actual rate paid will depend on Bristol Energy Cooperative’s performance.
Whitni Thomas, head of corporate finance at Triodos Bank UK, added: “We’ve been a proud supporter of community energy for many years, and are pleased to be working with Bristol Energy Cooperative as such an innovative organisation in this area.
“We find that the investors using our crowdfunding platform really ‘get’ the purpose and drive behind community-owned renewables, so we expect that there'll be plenty of interest in support for this share offer.”
In 2018, Triodos was the first bank to launch a crowdfunding platform in the UK. The bank has a history of working with community-owned renewable energy projects and has raised over £28 million for a range of community energy organisations and projects across the country.
Important information
Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong. Take 2 mins to learn more.
Unlike company shares, withdrawable shares in a society cannot go up in value, but they can go down which means you could lose some or all of the money you invest. You should therefore regard this investment as much as a social and environmental one as a financial one. You should only invest what you can afford to lose.
Investments are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) and your capital is at risk and returns are not guaranteed. You should always read the offer document in full before deciding whether to invest as it will cover risks specific to an individual investment. You can read more about the general risks associated with making these types of investments here. If you are unsure if any of these investments are right for you, you should contact an Independent Financial Adviser.
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For further information please contact:
Ellie James
T: 0117 311 0241
[email protected]
Notes to editors:
Bristol Energy Cooperative published an offer document dated May 2024. Applications can only be made on the basis of, and subject to, the terms and conditions of the information contained in the offer document which includes the terms and conditions of the Triodos Crowdfunding website.
About Bristol Energy Cooperative
Bristol Energy Cooperative is a community benefit society owned by its members of the community in and around Bristol, or individuals further afield who share their values. The society has a 1 member 1 vote system which ensures everyone has an equal voice in the co-op, irrespective of the size of their investment.
- As a not-for-profit community benefit society, they were founded to operate for the benefit of the community as a whole, rather than to maximise shareholder returns. Their constitutional documents, or Primary Rules, set out our objectives clearly, enshrining our core values of community, cooperation, and equality.
- bristolenergy.coop
About Triodos Bank
Founded in 1980, Triodos Bank has become a frontrunner in sustainable banking globally. As an independent bank that promotes responsible and transparent banking, it does not see any conflict between a focus on people and the planet and a good financial return. Instead it believes that they reinforce each other in the long-term.
Triodos Bank has banking activities in the Netherlands, Belgium, the UK, Spain and Germany as well as Investment Management activities based in the Netherlands but active globally. Triodos Bank co-founded the Global Alliance for Banking on Values (GABV), a network of sustainable banks. Together these banks want to grow sustainable banking and its impact on the real economy substantially.
[1] Information on ‘established’ energy cooperatives from Community Energy:State of the Sector Report 2022: https://communityenergyengland.org/files/document/626/1655376945_CommunityEnergyStateoftheSectorUKReport2022.pdf
This financial promotion has been issued by Triodos Bank UK Limited. Registered Office: Deanery Road, Bristol, BS1 5AS. Registered in England and Wales with registered number 11379025. Authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority under registration number 817008.