Our Community

We are registered as a Community Benefit Society and as such, community is at the heart of everything we do. Community Benefit Societies have members who invest as little as £100 to help bring the project to reality. Each member has an equal vote in matters such as key decisions, electing the Board and how to use the Community Benefit Fund.

Community Benefit Fund

All profits made by the Community Benefit Society will go into this fund, which we will use to help local people to move towards zero carbon – and other local environmental causes.

Connection

Local people have told us they wish to be reconnected:

• • To their neighbours… community engagement is key to the success of CCS so that each stage of the project demonstrates benefit to the people living and working in the locality and to our investors and members.
  • To their energy use… people are becoming more and more aware of the need for clean and sustainable energy to support the way we live in or homes, how we travel and how we link with others.
  • To the land and the environment… CCS enables energy production that respects the land, and provides opportunities for diverse green spaces for community cohesion.

CCS will work with the community to provide:

• • Information: We want to help people to make better choices, for example in how they heat and light their homes and travel, choices that help the planet and their pocket.

And opportunities for:

• • Membership: Members will be able to vote on key decisions.
  • Ownership: People will be able to own part of the solar farm through shares or a bond. They will receive a share of any profits. Local people will have priority if we are over-subscribed.

We believe in the benefits of community ownership, where the benefits stay in the community – known as the ‘economic multiplier’ – rather than flowing out to remote owners. One study for UK government found that community-owned assets such as solar farms provide “12-13 times as much community value re-invested back into local areas as would be achieved through 100% commercial models”. Other countries such as Denmark are doing this really well; the UK could still learn a lot about how to support the community-renewables sector better. We aim to play our part in making this happen.

Want to know more?

Read more about our story and find out who’s in our team. Or get involved using the links below.on the right.