Portfolio 1
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Our First Portfolio - 2015
A Rural Community Energy Fund (RCEF) grant for a feasibility study into renewable energy in the Tisbury area resulted in our first portfolio of solar installation sites and our First Share Offer (SO1). It was a massive success, raising £476,500 from 120 shareholder-members, mainly local to Tisbury and surrounds.
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This first portfolio comprised 10 installations at a mixture of farm and commercial buildings, brokered partly with the help of Fowler Fortescue and the Fonthill Estate:
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Bridzor Farm, Wardour, 49.84 kW
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Fonthill New Abbey Barn, Fonthill Gifford, 25.44 kW
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Fonthill Waters Ltd, Berwick St Leonard, 49.92 kW
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Guild Anderson Ltd, Berwick St Leonard, 49.92 kW
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Mail & Print Ltd, Berwick St Leonard, 49.92 kW
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Nectar Imports Ltd, Berwick St Leonard, 49.92 kW
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Pouldens Farm, Tisbury, 17.92 kW
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Pythouse Farm, Newtown, 49.82 kW
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Totterdale Farm, Tisbury, 27.56 kW
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Totterdale Farm Dairy Unit, Dinton, 46.28 kW
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The combined capacity of these sites is 417 kWp and our rooftop leases will continue for 20 years from 2015.
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The host sites enjoy cheaper electricity
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Our investors earn 5% interest
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The community benefits from any surplus funds
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The planet stands a better chance of reaching net zero.
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Solar panels being installed on the Nectar Imports Ltd building at Berwick St Leonard as part of our first portfolio (SO1).
Panels on Fonthill New Abbey Barn
Groundmounted array at Pythouse Farm
Panels installed on the roof of St John's Primary School, Tisbury, as part of our second portfolio (SO2)
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Large array on St Peter's School, Wilton
Semley Primary School
Portfolio 2
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Our Second Portfolio - 2018
Another RCEF-funded feasibility study, this time into solar on local schools, resulted in a second portfolio and successful Second Share Offer (SO2) in 2018 which allowed us to place PV panels on five schools brokered partly by the Salisbury Diocese:
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the newly built St Peter's CofE First School in Wilton (29.7kW)
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independent Leehurst Swan School in Salisbury (29.9kW)
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Semley CofE VA Primary School (18kW)
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Wylye Valley CofE VA Primary School (30kW)
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St John's CofE Primary School, Tisbury (22.4kW)
We also had sufficient investment to put an extra array on one of our existing buildings. SO2 also has a 20-year lifespan.
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This portfolio added a further 118 kWp to our generating capacity, bringing our combined total
close to 600 kWp.
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The schools enjoy cheaper electricity
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The children learn about renewable energy and the climate crisis
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Our investors earn 5% interest
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The community benefits from any surplus funds
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The planet stands a better chance of reaching net zero.
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Our Third Portfolio - 2024
We are now working towards a third portfolio of solar installations on the rooftops of six more schools, mostly in neighbouring North Dorset, in collaboration with the Sherborne Area Schools Trust (SAST):
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The Gryphon School, Sherborne, 102.0 kW
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Shaftesbury School, 49.0 kW
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Shaftesbury Primary, 39.5 kW
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Sherborne Primary, 30.0 kW
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Sherborne Abbey Primary, 30.0 kW
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King Arthur's School, Wincanton, 49.3 kW
Once we have secured all the necessary agreements, we intend to fund these through a Third Share Offer (SO3) which, if fully subscibed, would allow us to add a further 318 kWp to our solar capacity, bringing us to a combined total of nearly 1 MW. That would make NCE a serious player in the community renewable energy field.
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Portfolio 3
The Gryphon School in Sherborne. Our intention is to begin generating green energy in 2024.
