‘A share in the delight’: the people investing in the UK’s first community-owned solar battery

Ray Valley Solar, a community-owned solar park in Oxfordshire, plans to install the UK's first community-owned battery to store surplus power [1]. The project aims to raise between £500,000 and £1.3m from public investors [1]. The site's nearly 36,000 solar panels generate enough clean electricity to power about 7,000 homes annually [1]. On sunny days, it produces more power than the local grid can accept, leading to waste [1]. A planned lithium-ion battery, with a daily storage capacity of 12 megawatt hours, will capture this surplus and release it during evening peak demand [1]. This is expected to save enough electricity to power an additional 300 homes a year and increase community benefit contributions by an estimated £1m over the battery's 15-year lifetime [1]. The installation is being financed through a Community Energy Fund managed by the Low Carbon Hub, the organization that established the solar park in 2022 [1]. Shares are available from £100 to £100,000 via the platform Ethex, with a forecast return of up to 5% for investors [1]. Barbara Hammond, chief executive of the Low Carbon Hub, recalled initial fundraising doubts for the solar park, which ultimately raised £3m [1]. "All I remember is going into it with my stomach in knots, thinking: 'How are we ever going to raise this much?'" she said [1]. Investor Dale Hoyland, a team leader at Oxfordshire county council, stated his motivation was to use his salary to "do more good out in the world" [1]. "For the sake of a few hundred quid, I can take a share in the delight of making this all happen," he said [1]. Another investor, Eleanor Watts, noted the project's climate benefits outweighed financial concerns [1]. "Even if the shares don’t do so well in the future, I will feel happy that my money has done a little bit to combat the climate emergency," Watts said [1]. The Low Carbon Hub runs 56 community-owned renewable energy projects across Oxfordshire [1].