Opportunity to back Selsey solar farm which provides ‘outstanding support’ to community

Residents have a new opportunity to invest in a community solar project which has helped fund dozens of local projects over the last four years.
The solar farmThe solar farm
The solar farm

The Ferry Farm community solar project, which is located between Selsey and Sidlesham, has issued £135,000 in grant funding to community projects since 2016.

The solar farm’s 19,000 solar panels generate more than 5.4 million kWh of green energy a year – enough to power 1,300 households – with the income from the sale of the electricity going to the community fund.

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It is now embarking on a refinancing scheme which Ben Cooper, one of the directors, said would enable it to give back even more funds to the community each year.

Ben Cooper with the laptops for schoolsBen Cooper with the laptops for schools
Ben Cooper with the laptops for schools

A new bond offer is being offered, which will pay four per cent gross interest per year, linked to inflation, with capital projected to be returned by 2035.

The bond offer was launched at midday on Tuesday and, by Thursday afternoon, £550,000 of the £850,000 target had already been raised, Mr Cooper said.

He said people were motivated to invest for different reasons – with some attracted to the environmental aspect, others to the community side and some lured by the attractive interest rate.

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“That’s the really nice thing about it, it fulfils the needs of lots of different people,” he said, adding: “We’re really keen to get as many locals on board as possible.

The solar farm near SelseyThe solar farm near Selsey
The solar farm near Selsey

People can invest from £100, it makes it quite accessible.”

The solar project has continued to support the community throughout the pandemic, by pumping an extra £40,000 into the community fund.

Mr Cooper said: “We felt that was really important, as we had the cash and the opportunity to do it.”

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Among the recipients of the funding was The Academy Selsey, which was able to purchase ten laptops and give pupil access to an electronic reading library for pupils.

Frances Carver, business manager at the school, said: “We are beyond grateful that our students have been given the opportunity to utilise such resources that would normally be too expensive for us to afford within our limited school budget.”

Jake Burnyeat, Director of Ferry Farm Community Solar Limited, said the project had been ‘a lifeline’ to the community during the pandemic.

“It keeps delivering positive impact time and time again and the crowdfunding capital will bolster its financial resilience as well as its ability to support the community even further,” he said.

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The bond offer is being offered by Triodos Bank’s crowdfunding platform.

Dan Hird, Head of Corporate Finance at Triodos Bank UK, said: “Community energy projects like Ferry Farm play a vital role in the UK renewable energy sector, providing community empowerment and outstanding support to their communities in times of need.

“The ability they have to rapidly mobilise funds and help local people is fantastic.

“Our investors want to support initiatives that deliver positive impact to the planet, its people and communities and this project achieves all three of these.”

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