2010
Energy Propsects was founded to fund the early development of co-operative renewable energy projects, and £1 million was raised through a public share offer to begin supporting wind energy co-ops.
Four Winds Co-operative: Energy Prospects supported Four Winds Co-op in the development of 2x 500kW turbines. One turbine is in Duckmanton, Derbyshire and the other in Shafton, Yorkshire. They raised £3.4 million in a share offer in 2014.
Drumlin Wind Energy Co-op: Energy Prospects supported Drumlin Wind Energy Co-op in Northern Ireland. Drumlin owns and operates 6 x 250kW turbines after raising £3.7 million in 2 successful share offers, first in 2012 and then in 2014.
2015
Energy Propsects was initially set up to deliver wind projects but in 2015 a de facto ban on new onshore wind projects in England made prospects very poor. Energy Prospects, with the support of its members, widens its scope to other renewable energy projects.
Between 2015 - 2020 Energy Propsects supported 4 solar PV projects. 3 of these are rooftop solar: Edinburgh Community Solar Co-op, Wey Valley Solar Schools Co-op and Energise South.
West Solent Solar Co-op is a 2.4 MW ground mounted solar PV site near Lymington, Hampshire.
Energy Propsects supported 2 hydropower projects: Rumbling Bridge Community Hydro, a 500kW hydro scheme near Kinross in Scotland, and RainePower Hydro, a 36 kW Archimedes scheme at Killington, Cumbria.
2016
In 2016 Energy Propsects participated in buying a 75% ownership stake of Mean Moor Wind Farm in Cumbria, along with Baywind Co-op and High Winds Co-op. In 2017, the three co-ops collectively buy out the remaining 25% from the commercial developer. You can read a press release here.
Mean Moor is a 3x 2.3MW wind farm site near Ulverston in Cumbria, adjacent to the smaller 2x turbine High Winds Co-op project.
2020
In 2020 Energy Prospects members approved the sale of its shares in Mean Moor Wind Farm to High Winds Community Energy Society, bringing all 5 turbines on the 2 adjacent hills into their ownership. High Winds raised the funds through a public share offer, with first priority to Energy Prospects Loan Note holders.
Taking part in this project has been a great success for Energy Propsects' mission - The 5 x 2.3MW turbines of Mean Moor and High Winds together are a flagship of the community energy movement and demonstrate that communities can deliver at scale.
Beyond 2020...
Energy Prospects continues to support a variety of community renewable energy projects through loans, seed capital and funding other activity (for example we have funded a fixed-term development manager role where this has helped to deliver a project of scale). As well as supporting the previous co-ops with additional activity, we have supported...
200kW hydro
project in the north of Scotland
547kW hydro scheme near Fort William, Scotland
Solar rooftop co-op installing roof-top solar on more than 100 sites across England
A 2.6 MW Solar Farm that powers the James Hutton Institute outside Dundee
A rooftop solar PV co-op installing in Scunthorpe and the surrounding area
2x 500 kW community-owned turbines in the Forest of Dean
2024
Of note in 2024 was a loan made to REScoop MECISE (Mutual for European Communities Investing in a Sustainable Europe, a pan-European initiative to mobilise citizens across borders in the fight against climate change) to refinance a Westmill Solar Co-op loan.
This was ground-breaking for the community-owned renewable energy sector: it was the first-ever cross border co-operative investment in Europe, in partnership with energy co-ops from Spain, France, Belgium and the UK. You can read more in their press release here.
