Wiltshire Wildlife Community Energy (WWCE) Ltd has launched its first investment opportunity in almost ten years. The community energy organisation is looking to raise up to £500,000 to finance the provision of over 1,000 solar panels on the roof of Silverwood School’s Rowde campus, a special school for young people aged 4-19 near Devizes.
The school has undergone a period of major redevelopment, with Wiltshire Council pumping £38 million into a new net-zero building that will be a state-of-the-art centre for SEND education, health, care, and training. A total of 1,087 solar panels will generate green electricity to run the school, with surplus power exported to the local grid.
The project will also create a ring-fenced annual income of £5,000 through WWCE’s charitable community fund, administered by its partners at Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, that will be used by the school to deliver biodiversity and environmental education initiatives.
Julian Barlow, chair of WWCE and trustee of the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust said, “This is a really exciting project, working with such an important educational asset in Wiltshire alongside WWT. This scheme will generate funding for initiatives which support nature’s recovery while enriching the education and wellbeing of the students at Silverwood School. By investing in this opportunity, local people can help us to achieve our key aims of restoring wildlife as well as reducing carbon in Wiltshire, a fantastic legacy for us and the Silverwood School community.”
Sean McKeown, executive headteacher at Silverwood School, added, “Through this partnership with WWCE and with the support of WWT members and other stakeholders, we’ll receive a supply of clean solar electricity from the panels installed on our fantastic new centre for SEND education, benefiting from long term agreements which protect us from future energy market volatility. In addition, the project will generate funds for ecological initiatives which enhance our educational offering and will be delivered with our project partners – I hope that those who are in a position to support the project get behind it.”
WWCE has kickstarted the fundraising by investing £121,000 and is now seeking the support of the public to secure a further £500,000 to guarantee the project’s future. To learn more about the investment opportunity and get involved, visit Ethex Crowdfunding or register to join Julian Barlow as he talks more about the initiative during the upcoming ‘Cuppa Club’ webinar on 17th October.
*Returns are not guaranteed and capital is at risk. Before deciding whether to invest please read the share offer document in full and seek independent advice if you are not sure.