banistercommunitygroup.jpg

Residents can invest in the future by buying shares in London’s biggest community-owned solar project which are on sale now. 

The public offer is expected to raise the £142,000 needed to pay for solar panel installation on 14 buildings of the Banister House Estate, Hackney, and follows start-up funding for the project from Hackney Council.

The panels will allow residents on the Homerton estate to own and manage their energy supply, control their energy generation and use, and tackle fuel poverty when cells start producing electricity in the summer.

Investors are predicted to see a four per cent return on their outlay each year, with Banister House residents able to buy shares for a minimum of £50, and everyone else for a minimum of £250. 

At the same time, an income of £28,000 is expected to be raised over the project’s lifetime, which will be fed into the Community Energy Efficiency Fund - set up to promote greener living on the estate and help deal with fuel poverty. 

The scheme will generate income in three ways: primarily from the government's Feed-in Tariff which pays renewable energy creators for electricity generated; secondly, the Council will directly buy a proportion of the energy; and the remainder will be exported to the national grid and sold at market value. 

The pioneering initiative, led by not-for-profit group Repowering London, has also created employment opportunities and training for local people, including for 20 young people from the estate who are set to be involved in the panel installation.