Low Carbon West Oxford & West Oxford Community Renewables.

Please see the email below from fellow CAG Low Carbon West Oxford. It’s an innovative way of local communities reducing their carbon emissions and funding future projects. Feel free to pass around those you know.

Opportunity to invest in West Oxford Community Renewables Ltd (WOCR):

A sister organisation to Low Carbon West Oxford (LCWO)

Residents in West Oxford have set up West Oxford Community Renewables Ltd (WOCR), a Green Building Society, to slash local CO2 emissions and help combat climate change.

Shares cost £1 each and are available in groups of 10, 250, 1,000 or 20,000.

All the share capital raised will be spent on community-owned renewable energy schemes in West Oxford .

The electricity generated by these schemes will be sold and the income used to fund community projects run by Low Carbon West Oxford, which will further reduce C02 emissions.

You don't have to live in West Oxford to be eligible to buy shares. You can request a prospectus by emailing us at lowcarbon@hotmail.co.uk and one will be sent to you.

Further details available on our website
www.lowcarbonwestoxford.org.uk or phone Lois Muddiman on 01865 203550.



Renewable Energy Projects

The share capital will be spent on:

Large-scale solar photovoltaic roofs

WOCR has already begun development and installation of 196 kWp of solar PV cells on large buildings in West Oxford .

A micro hydro to make power in the Thames at Osney. WOCR has a full design study for a 49 kWe installation at Osney Weir. The Environment Agency has committed to working with us to make it happen.

Small-scale wind turbines (15kW) on Cumnor and Harcourt Hill

WOCR has quotations and is about to start taking readings of the windspeed at the site to make sure that they tally with predictions based on the national wind energy database.


WOCR expects to generate a 10-11% return on investment

Returns to Investors

Investors in WOCR will receive

· Reductions in carbon dioxide and other environmental benefits achieved which will be presented to members in an annual carbon account

· 6% of the reductions in carbon dioxide emissions will be available for allocation amongst members.

· Social benefits arising from sustainable living projects run by Low Carbon West Oxford which will be presented to members in an annual social account.

· Financial benefits in the form of possible future interest rate payments, if any. The directors do not expect to make interest payments for the first 5 years. Thereafter it is expected that a rate of up to 5% will be paid depending on the performance of the society.


Every investor will have a vote at WOCR AGMs which will operate on the ‘one member, one vote’ principle whereby all investor members will have one vote regardless of the size of shareholding.



Forecast carbon savings generated this year are:


· 155 tonnes from 38 local households – a 30 % reduction on the previous year

· 64 tonnes from tree planting over their life time

· 170 tonnes from two PV roofs installed in August over their 25 year life


Notes

West Oxford Community Renewables Ltd was registered as an Industrial and Provident Society on 16th June 2009. It has a set of rules for governance approved by the Financial Services Authority.

It’s sister organisation, Low Carbon West Oxford was formed in November 2007 and is currently registering as a charity.

Low Carbon West Oxford is one of the ten finalists in The Big Green Challenge, a £1 million pound climate change competition run by NESTA (the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) which aims to encourage community-led organisations to slash CO2 emissions and show how local schemes can grow or be replicated across the UK .

www.biggreenchallenge.org.uk