** This Share Offer is now fully funded as of 21st February. A heartfelt Thank You to everyone who helped us reach the £97,000 target! **
Reading Community Energy Society (‘RCES’) opened a new Share Offer in early 2024 to raise additional capital to expand its portfolio of Solar PV Systems and increase the positive impact it is having in the Greater Reading area.
We are delighted to announce that we are now fully funded, and are very grateful to all our investors who helped us reach the £97,000 target.
We are especially pleased to have welcomed new local investors to the society and to have raised the profile of the society.
RCES has been running successfully since 2016, operating 22 Solar PV Systems which generate an estimated 420 MWh of green electricity annually. Building on the success of our two previous share offers, this new Share Offer sought to raise a further £97,000. This was a real opportunity for people living in Reading and surrounding area to join the Society and support its work.
We are a Community Benefit Society with the aims of: increasing the amount of green energy generated and carbon emissions saved; and using any surplus income to make community funding available and improve the positive impact we can have locally. This was a fantastic opportunity for local people to take a tangible step in tackling the impacts of climate change.
The funding raised from the Share Offer will be used to refinance the installation of a new Solar PV System, at the newly redeveloped School of Art building at University of Reading. This new system at the School of Art has a capacity of 73.8 kWp, making it RCES’s largest installation to date. It was funded by a short-term loan from Westmill Wind Farm Co-operative and the new Share Offer sought to raise the funds necessary to repay this loan.
The Offer opened in early 2024 and closed after being fully funded on 21st February 2024. The share offer application process was carried out by Energy4All Limited. The minimum investment was just £200.
The Phase 3 Share Offer document can be accessed here.
