Empower Community is a social enterprise that balances the interests of all stakeholders by developing projects that benefit all participants while providing high-quality, risk-mitigated investment opportunities.
Challenge
We need to greatly accelerate the deployment of renewable energy and other balancing interventions at scale in order to address the combined factors of climate change, energy security, and social justice.
Solution
Empower Community was created to accelerate the transition to sustainable low carbon local economies by seeking to ensure the financial benefits of renewable energy go back into local communities.
Revenue
The main revenue model of the solar parks is the sale of electricity.
Empower Community’s solar parks were originally acquired by Empower Community Foundation (a registered charity) using bridging loans to fund the transaction. The majority of this was refinanced using a secured long-term loan from Triodos Bank UK. The latest crowdfunding bond was launched in 2023 and will be used to repay the remainder of the loan and secure the long-term funding for the remaining life of the solar parks.
Impact
Empower Community’s two 5MW solar parks (Drove Lane near Salisbury in England and New Mains in Arbroath in Scotland) generate enough electricity to power the equivalent of 2,600 homes a year combined.
The organisation distributes any additional income generated from the sale of its electricity back into the local communities. For example, in Salisbury Empower has worked in conjunction with Salisbury Council and Wiltshire Community Foundation to support Stronger Families, an initiative that addresses family breakdown, child poverty and mental illness in one of the most deprived areas of Wiltshire, as well as Foundation Scotland. More latterly, community funds have been distributed via actionfunder.org
Quotes
“We have all seen the impact of high energy prices and the vulnerability of our energy system to global geopolitical events. A strong renewable energy system can provide an alternative to this. Our structure as a charity means we can reinvest in the local communities to build resilience through this energy transition.”
Alex Grayson, Trustee of Empower Community Foundation
“We continue to see strong interest from our investors for community energy projects, where both positive social and environmental impact is really clear to see. We were delighted that we were able to refinance expensive debt on more affordable terms for the charity, freeing up more money for investment in local energy resilience projects.”
Richard O’Brien, Senior Corporate Finance Manager at Triodos Bank UK