People-owned power company Ripple Energy has successfully financed a new Devonshire solar development thanks to a deal with Virgin Money.
The community energy organisation has secured a £21.8 million loan package from the bank in order to fund the construction and operation of the 42MW Derril Water Solar Park, to be located near Torridge, Devon.
This is not the first time that Ripple and Virgin Money have partnered; Virgin Money provided finance for Ripple Energy’s 18.8MW Kirk Hill Wind Farm in Ayrshire, Scotland, which came online in June of this year.
Adam Heslop, Virgin Money’s senior director of renewable energy, says the Derril Water Solar Park development deal is built on the bank’s trust in Ripple Energy and that the bank’s experience with Ripple Energy significantly sped up the timeline for agreeing on this finance package.
Heslop added: “We are highly committed to the development of green energy and a 50% reduction of carbon emissions across our financing activities by 2030, and we are delighted to help fund these projects in partnership with Ripple, and with the individuals and companies who are also investing in a more environmentally and financially sustainable future.”
Ripple Energy has also secured another £20 million of funding for the Derril Water development from other institutional investors; with funding now secure, the project is set to become operational in 2025.
Ripple founder and CEO Sarah Merrick said: “A clean energy revolution is underway in Britain, and it’s our mission to make sure real people are at the heart of it. Derril Water Solar Park is an incredible example of how we accelerate the transition in a way that members of the public directly benefit. With Virgin Money’s support, we’re set to energise the site in Spring, delivering cleaner and more affordable energy to the thousands of owners.”
Ripple Energy and people-owned power
The Derril Water Solar Park is set to be the first major solar park in the UK where members share both the power the park produces, as well as part-ownership in the development. The park will be part-owned by almost 10,000 people, plus 34 small and medium enterprises (SMEs), all of whom will receive reduced energy bills as a return on their investment into the project, rather than the usual dividends.
The Derril Water Solar Park was sold to a Ripple Energy-managed energy co-operative by renewable energy developer RES in April 2023. Ripple Energy confirmed that 10% of the site’s capacity has been exclusively ringfenced for ownership by local residents, with the remaining 90% owned by people across the UK.
As explored by a previous Solar Power Portal blog, community energy has seen an immense rise in recent years, and the South West of England has been identified as a solar energy “hotspot”.
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