ANNUAL PERFORMANCE SUMMARY
Here is a summary which provides insight into the environmental and financial performance of our investments over the 2021/22 financial year.
Thanks to the £10 m of investment raised from our 1,700+ investor members as of August 2022, we own nearly 50 renewable energy installations across Oxfordshire. As well as our 48 rooftop solar arrays and Sandford Hydro, we have just completed work on Ray Valley Solar: the UK’s largest community-owned solar park. The solar park represents a step change in our generation capacity – resulting in a five-fold increase in the amount of green electricity we’ll be producing each year.
In total our portfolio of community-owned renewables now represents 27 MW of installed generation capacity, and together, they can generate 24.6 GWh of electricity each year, enough to power 8,487 typical homes and save 5,688 tonnes of CO2. Together they also provide an ongoing income stream enabling us to leverage further grants and contracts to fund energy efficiency, green innovation, and community energy projects.
Our community group membership has grown significantly over the last year – and stands at 41 in August, more than double our original membership. The work that they do in their communities and their determination and drive to make a difference continues to inspire us, and we are proud to be able to be support their work. Many of these community groups are also vital and valued partners in the delivery of our innovation work such as the Project Local Energy Oxfordshire (LEO) Smart and Fair Neighbourhood Trials. We also hugely appreciate their support in advocating on behalf of energy efficiency programmes such as Cosy Homes Oxfordshire, Energy Solutions Oxfordshire (ESOx), and our newest collaboration, Action on Carbon and Energy in Schools (ACES), delivering energy efficiency for local schools.