Issue details

Oldham Community Power (OCP) Ltd is the Community Benefit Society delivering the Generation Oldham programme, which aims to install solar photovoltaic (PV) systems on the roofs of Council-owned schools and community centres, funded through a community share issue. OCP aims to raise around £300,000 to fund Phase 1 of the scheme. The buildings to be included in Phase 1 can be found in Appendix A of this report. OCP’s share issue is currently live and investors so far include the Council (£15,000 of Pioneer Shares), local residents (around £20,000) and further verbal pledges from small investors (£5,000-£10,000). The share issue will officially close on 12 August 2016. A number of large community partners including Big Local Oldham and Action Together have also suggested that they could invest £100K each into the scheme, but timescales for these investments potentially stretch beyond the end of the 12 August deadline. However, these investments could constitute the majority of the funding required to complete Phase 1. OCP needs to complete the solar PV installations by the end of September in order to meet the deadline when the Feed In Tariff (FIT) falls, after which OCP can no longer offer their target of a 4% rate of return to Members of the Society. It is therefore proposed that the Council underwrite/guarantee the cost of Phase 1 of the scheme to enable OCP to complete the solar PV installations by the September FIT deadline. The Council will either be repaid from community investments received after the share offer officially closes on 12 August, or will convert a proportion of the funds underwritten either into a shareholding in OCP or a long-term loan paying a reasonable rate of interest back to the Council. The Council funds underwriting the scheme will be secured on the FIT and also on the Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) that OCP holds with the building occupiers. Throughout the Generation Oldham project, the Council has played an enabling role to support the community without itself taking control, and this proposal is in keeping with this principle. It will enable OCP to maximise the benefits of the project for all stakeholders.