Downing Crowd: £1.2 Million Raised for Wind Project

Downing Crowd has successfully raised £1.2 million in a bond offering to fund a small-scale wind turbine site in Scotland, owned and operated by C&G Renewables Limited. The £1.2 million raise will support the day-to-day operation of the wind turbines. Investors that backed the project will receive a 5% annual fixed interest rate over a term of up to 12-months. The offering took just 20 minutes to close on the crowdfunding platform.

The wind turbines are said to have been operational for over three years and have successfully produced 830,000 kWh of renewable electricity during a 12-month period – enough to power approximately 270 UK homes for a whole year.

The turbines benefit from government backed subsidies called “Feed-in-Tariffs” (FiTs), which have been a main support mechanism for renewable electricity projects in the UK. A fixed tariff is paid for each kWh of electricity generated by FiT-qualifying renewable energy projects accredited by OFGEM. The turbines operated by C&G received accreditation in November 2013.

Downing Crowd is part of investment manager Downing LLP, which has funded over 100 energy projects since 2010 totaling approximately £500 million, including solar power, onshore wind and biomass energy. The business recently announced strategic investment for the initial phase of a £1.6 billion program described as a world-first network of electric vehicle (EV) chargers and batteries across the United Kingdom, developed by Pivot Power.

Julia Groves, Head of Downing Crowd and Partner at Downing LLP, said with close to a third of all power produced in the UK being generated by renewable energy this is clearly an interesting area for investors to get involved in.

“Our latest Bond with C&G Renewables is also a great example of how investors can clearly see their money go towards small-scale, local projects, that are making a positive difference to the UK’s energy market.”