CWP, the company behind the Sapphire wind and solar farms, has explained how investment by local people would work if there’s enough interest.
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In a series of meetings in the towns around the renewable energy complex between Inverell and Glen Innes, CWP financial consultants have laid out some of the figures.
There would need to be expressions of interest from people willing to put in at least $5,000 each. No cap on investment has yet been published but that would be determined by CWP.
The total amount of local investment would have to be at least $3 million for a “Community Investment Vehicle” to be set up – in other words, for the mechanism for local investment to be established.
According to Taryn Lane, an energy consultant to CWP, a return of at least five per cent would be guaranteed. “This is a very safe investment”, she said. Returns might be higher than this floor rate.
No investments would be taken until after the construction phase was over. This, she said, would diminish the risk because construction was often a period of higher risk – the weather could throw things badly off course, for example.
The company thinks local investment is a very good idea, partly because it would unite people in the area around the project – they would literally be invested in it. If the Community Investment Vehicle were set up, it could invest in other local projects.
Similar schemes operate in Europe but not, as far as is known, in Australia. In some parts of Europe, local communities own wind farms. In some countries, local people can hold up to a quarter of the total value of the farm. With the Sapphire model, (revolutionary for Australia though it is) the cap on local investment would be five per cent of the total.
People who are interested can learn more and complete the survey at http://www.sapphirewindfarm.com.au/community/community-investment-testing/