Invest in Community Solar at Caversham, Camden

Sir Keir Starmer, MP

Green Power for GPs

Power Up North London are looking to raise £28,000 through a Community Share Offer to install 30kW of solar PV at Caversham Group Practice, Camden

Who are Power Up North London?

Power Up North London is a community benefit society, set up in 2015 to bring renewable energy to our local community in the Camden/ Islington area.  PUNL is run by a skilled and committed group of volunteers who bring essential skills in strategy and business management, financial planning and analysis, engineering, marketing, policy and communications. You can find out more here

Our track record

In 2016 we installed a 19kWp PV solar array on the roof of St Anne's church in Highgate, funded through a community share offer and it is now delivering reduced carbon emissions and cost savings.  

In 2018 we conducted three PV solar feasibility studies in Camden funded by the Greater London Authority, and one in Islington, funded by the Islington Community Energy Fund.   We are now moving forward with the installation of a 30kWp solar PV array at the Caversham Group Practice.

The Caversham Group Practice PV Solar Project

Caversham Group Practice is an established NHS teaching and training practice in the London borough of Camden with 15,000 registered patients.  PUNL has been working with them over the past 15 months, from initial conversations to establish interest and suitability of the site, to a successful application for feasibility funding from the GLA, completing the feasibility with a green light to proceed and putting the legal documentation in place for a lease between Caversham and PUNL.           

We are now moving to the installation phase and must raise the capital to purchase the solar panels.  We need £28k for the solar panels, electronic display and fundraising costs.  We have a commitment for £5k grant funding from Simmons & Simmons if we are able to raise the rest of the funds from community shares.  The project aim is to install 30kWp of PV solar panels on the south and west facing roofs of the Practice. The panels are estimated to generate c.25MWh of electricity annually, and to meet about half of the projected daytime electricity consumption, while displacing 8 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.

What are the benefits of the project?

The panels will generate an estimated 25MWh of clean energy a year, which equates to a reduction in carbon emissions of around 8 tonnes/year.

The Practice will benefit from discounted energy, through a power purchase agreement with Power Up North London.

Staff, patients and other members of the local community will benefit from a small return on their investment, while being given the opportunity to invest for social and environmental benefit 

Any surplus income will be put into PUNL’s Community Energy Fund, which will be available for further projects in the local area

The panels will be a community asset that can be used for educational purposes and to encourage others to explore renewable energy

Where will the income come from?

The £28,000 Community Share Offer will fund the installation of the panels. Power Up North London will receive income from three sources:

• We have a Feed- in -Tariff (FiT) rate secured for 20 years, which is a payment from the government for each unit of energy generated
• Selling electricity to the Caversham Group Practice at a discounted price
• Selling any remaining energy back to the grid.

Shareholder Benefits

Buying shares in PUNL means you will automatically become a member of the Community Benefit Society. Your investment plus a small amount of interest will be repaid in annual instalments from 2020. The average annual interest rate is estimated to be 2% for the length of this project.  Members are entitled to receive the Society’s annual accounts, vote at the Society’s Annual General Meetings, and stand for election to the Board of Directors. Members will democratically decide on future projects and how PUNL’s Community Energy Fund is to be administered. We hope you will view investment as an opportunity to support a project with environmental and social benefit; the rate of return is modest in keeping with our rules as a Community Benefit Society.

The Shares

Shares are in Power Up North London, a registered Community Benefit Society.
The Shares are Ordinary shares of £1 each. For each member, the minimum investment is £250 (1) and the maximum is £3,000. Each member will have one vote irrespective of the amount invested. The shares are in PUNL as a whole, and not the Caversham Group Practice installation specifically. This means interest rates may be affected by future share offers, however all future projects will be subject to the approval of members and will only be recommended for approval if they maintain or increase upon the current projected interest rate.

(1) Staff and patients of the Caversham Group Practice may invest a minimum of £100 each.

Community Shares Standard Mark

This share offer has received the Community Shares Standard Mark.

The Community Shares Standard Mark is awarded by the Community Shares Unit to offers that meet national standards of good practice. For more information about community shares, the Community Shares Standard Mark and the Community Shares Unit go to: communityshares.org.uk

The Risks

Community shares are fully at risk, and you could lose some or all of the money you invest. You have no right to compensation from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, nor any right of complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Important Documents

PUNL Business Plan 2019

PUNL Share Offer Caversham

PUNL Society Rules