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<p><strong>Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong. <a href="/risk-summary/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Take 2 mins to learn more</a>.</strong></p>


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kessingland

Latest news

<p>The new initiative, Community Energy Catalyst, will support local communities to build their own clean energy infrastructure or secure stakes in larger regional renewable energy schemes. Fair Play Clean Energy, Thrive’s existing joint venture with Top Cashback Sustainability Ltd, will provide £20 million of the investment, with Better Society Capital providing matched funding.</p>
<p>Community Energy Catalyst will make investments ranging between £0.5 million to £30 million in individual projects which are at least 1MW in size and employ proven technologies such as onshore and offshore wind, solar PV and hydro-electric. The joint venture will target late-stage development projects that have already secured planning consent, enabling them to advance through to construction, commissioning and operation while aligning with local objectives.</p>
<p>As well as funding, Thrive brings 30 years of experience financing, building and operating clean energy projects in the UK, and will provide support to community energy groups during key milestones such as procurement and grid connection.</p>
<p>When we created our award-winning community funding bridge in 2017, it was the first of its kind. Eight years later we’ve invested over £21 million into seven community energy projects, including £4 million to build England’s largest onshore wind turbine, which is 100% owned by the community in our home city of Bristol.</p>


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ACE_June_2024-6

Funding partnership with Better Society Capital will help more communities to own their own projects or take a stake in a larger project in their local area.

We’re partnering with the UK’s leading social impact investor to mobilise £40 million for community-owned energy projects

Featured

<p>Headquartered just a five-minute walk from one another – by College Green and the Harbourside respectively – the businesses share a commitment to driving renewable energy growth and making green energy more accessible to all.</p>
<p>Bristol Energy purchased the renewable electricity produced by Thrive’s <a title="Clayfords wind farm" href="/our-projects/clayfords-wind-farm/" data-udi="umb://document/51f24a16f388411396ccd258e7266a4b">Clayfords Wind Farm</a> near Strichen in Aberdeenshire, Scotland for 12 months from September 2018. The single-turbine site will deliver approximately 2.26GWh of clean energy to around 564 homes over the course of the contract .</p>
<p>Thrive owns the 0.8MW site as part of their nationwide renewable project portfolio of 21 sites. The project was built in 2015 and qualifies for the government’s renewable energy feed-in-tariff (FiT) subsidy. The project was funded by Thrive with a crowdfunded bond raise in 2016.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.bristol-energy.co.uk/">Bristol Energy</a> supplies more than 76,000 homes across the UK and is actively growing the amount of renewable energy in its portfolio year on year. Renewables accounted for 40% of its energy supply after its first year in 2017, which it has increased to an estimated 60% this year. The company has achieved this substantial growth by working with renewable energy generators, like Thrive, through power purchase agreements (PPAs).</p>
<p>Providing accessible renewable energy is a key objective of both Thrive and Bristol Energy. They are encouraging people to get involved by investing in one of Thrive’s renewable energy schemes or by signing up Bristol Energy’s 100% green tariff.</p>
<p>The Clayfords project was developed in conjunction with the nearby Auchtygills turbine and both became operational in 2015.</p>
<p>The deal was completed on e-POWER, an online auction, which enables independent renewable energy generators to sell clean electricity to utilities.</p>


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Thrive Renewables

The agreement between Thrive Renewables and Bristol Energy will provide over 550 homes with renewable wind energy.

Bristol companies sign clean energy deal

<p>Space heating and hot water accounts for 80% of UK residential energy consumption.  Almost 40% of the UK’s energy requirement is for heat with 70% of our heating requirements met by burning natural gas, resulting in 20% of the UK’s CO2 emissions.</p>
<p>Ground source heat pumps significantly reduce this negative environmental impact and help to alleviate fuel poverty by using underground pipes to extract heat from the ground to heat radiators, underfloor or air systems and water. The pump requires electricity to run but uses less power than it produces and therefore generates lower CO2 emissions – the typical ratio is 1:3.</p>
<p>The project Thrive is investing in will deliver a reduction of 4,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year. That is enough for 3,300 return flights from London to New York , to build 50 new homes  or to make 193 million cups of tea.</p>
<p>Thrive has a portfolio of 21 renewable energy projects across the UK, and this is the company’s first investment in heat pumps.</p>


<p>Rendesco has a compelling offer whereby it designs, installs and maintains ground source heat pumps for clients providing 20 years of low cost energy. After the 20 years, Rendesco gives the heat pump to the client. Over the last three years, the company has successfully delivered 21 systems in new build developments.</p>
<p>Running a heat pump costs around 30% less than an equivalent gas boiler, 40% less than oil and 60% less than LPG, so as well as reducing carbon emissions, they can also lower energy bills. Heat pumps also have a longer life than combustion boilers and require less maintenance. The ground stays at a fairly constant temperature under the surface, so the heat pump can be used throughout the year.</p>
<p>Each heat pump costs around £150,000, but Rendesco is able to deliver low cost and low emissions energy to the host. It achieves a return on its investment through the government’s non-domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) payment, a 20-year inflation-linked subsidy. This model will allow Rendesco to repay the bond in full within seven years.</p>
<p>In 2015, Heat Roadmap Europe found that the UK has the fourth highest heating and cooling energy demand among 14 countries analysed, but heat pumps delivered just 1% of this requirement.  This is compared to an EU average of over 10%, with Sweden producing around half of its heat renewably.</p>
<p>Thrive invested in Rendesco through Triodos Bank’s crowdfunding platform. The funds will come from a £1 million investment allocation that Thrive has ringfenced for new sustainable energy technologies, such as heat, energy storage and other innovative solutions. The company’s aim is to reduce carbon emissions, last year its portfolio delivered a reduction of 79,570 tonnes greenhouse gas emissions, which it hopes to increase to 100,000 by 2020.</p>


rendesco_website

Thrive makes its first investment in heat.

Heat pump investment to help save 4,000 tonnes of carbon emissions a year

<p>They are targeting thousands of businesses spending £500,000 a year or more on electricity. Over 8,000 businesses in the UK have annual electricity contracts of 10GWh or more and are likely to be spending at least £1 million a year, according to energy market analysts Cornwall Insight. The number with £500,000 annual bills is likely to be far larger.</p>
<p>Customers with a mid-range 2MW battery could save more than £1 million over a 15-year standard contract.</p>
<p>Thrive has invested in, owns and operates a 104MW portfolio of wind, hydro and solar assets. The joint venture moves it into the rapidly emerging storage market, combining its own funding and behind the meter renewable expertise with Aura Power’s market-leading experience of developing utility scale batteries.</p>
<p>Aura Power has developed a wide range of projects including a 15MW battery at Lockleaze, near Bristol – the UK’s largest when it started operation in August 2017 – and a 10MW battery at Nevendon, Essex.</p>
<p>The joint venture is seeking businesses spending around £50,000 a month or more on electricity with steady consumption and spare import capacity. Potential customers could include manufacturers, water utilities, pharmaceuticals businesses, cold storage facilities, hotels and large office buildings.</p>
<p>Batteries will be installed behind the meter, offering a range of benefits. Businesses can:</p>
<ul>
<li>avoid punitive Triad and red zone charges for using electricity at peak times;</li>
<li>save money by charging up when power is cheap;</li>
<li>earn money by providing services to the grid such as frequency response;</li>
<li>hedge against rising electricity costs;</li>
<li>maintain activities during power cuts;</li>
<li>correct power quality issues;</li>
<li>develop or increase on-site renewable generation;</li>
<li>support electric vehicle charging.</li>
</ul>
<p>Before customers sign a contract, Aura Power will review their electricity usage and bills and carry out a site survey. Customers will then be recommended the appropriate size of battery, from 0.5MW up, and provided with forecast revenue and savings.</p>
<p>Batteries can be installed with minimal impact on site operations, either in existing buildings such as basements or in shipping containers outdoors. Installation takes as little as a few days and is timed to ensure minimum disruption. The process from signing a contract to installing the battery can be concluded within three to six months.</p>


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Wicken

Thrive Renewables and Aura Power are launching a joint venture today that will offer thousands of UK businesses the chance to use battery energy storage systems to cut electricity bills at no cost to themselves.

Batteries offer businesses savings with no up-front cost

<p>During 2017, Thrive Renewables:</p>
<ul>
<li>Raised nearly £10 million from 940 investors via the Thrive Renewables plc bond.</li>
<li>Completed construction of two new onshore wind energy projects totalling 10.6MW.</li>
<li>Created the Thrive Community Energy Funding Bridge, investing £11.4m in three projects, enabling the communities to buy renewable energy projects from large infrastructure owners.</li>
</ul>


<h2>Delivering impact in 2017</h2>
<h3>Widening ownership of renewables</h3>
<p>Thrive Renewables plc bond offer successfully closed in March 2017 having raised £9.96 million. Over 900 individuals invested in the bond in addition to impact investment institutions and foundations. A total of 669 new individuals joined Thrive’s community of investors via the bond.</p>
<h3>Investing in new renewable capacity</h3>
<p>Thrive Renewables contributed to construction and commissioning of 10.6MW of new onshore wind capacity in 2017. The company delivered 6MW through Drumduff wind farm in West Lothian, Scotland, through a joint venture with GreenPower (International) Ltd. It also provided a £1.48m mezzanine loan facility that contributed to the funding of Brotherton Wind Farm, a 4.6MW onshore wind project in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.</p>
<p>“One of our new wind projects, Drumduff, is particularly satisfying; it sits on the site of a ‘retired’ open cast coal mine. It’s difficult to think of a more appropriate and optimistic symbol of how we use investor’s money to directly transform the country’s energy system,” says Matthew.</p>
<h3>Innovative community funding model</h3>
<p>In 2017, Thrive supported three communities with a total £11.4 million investment: a £1.7m funding bridge to a Community Interest Company that owns the Sheriffhales 3.174MWp solar PV farm in Shropshire, a £7.4m funding bridge to Mean Moor Community Wind Farm Limited that owns a 6.9MW wind farm in Cumbria, and £2.3m funding bridge for the purchase of the 2.4MW Brockholes wind farm located in Scottish Borders.</p>
<p>Thrive has been able to use its capital flexibly to allow the migration of assets from commercial to community ownership. The new innovative funding model is designed to provide communities with the expertise, funding and certainty required to acquire operational renewable energy projects. It then provides the communities with the necessary time to raise the funds.</p>
<h2>Future ambitions</h2>
<p>By 2020, Thrive has pledged to:</p>
<ol>
<li>Deliver renewable energy projects in a subsidy free world.</li>
<li>Grow the investor base to 10,000, combining direct investment and funds facilitated by the Community Energy Funding Bridge.</li>
<li>Invest into a portfolio of sustainable energy projects that deliver over 100,000 tCO<sub>2</sub>e of greenhouse gas emission reductions per annum.</li>
</ol>
<h3>Business strategy</h3>
<p>Thrive will pursue a focused business strategy to deliver impact in the subsidy free context, focusing on three core areas:</p>
<h3>Community energy funding bridge</h3>
<p>Many commercial players are looking to sell operational renewable energy projects to market. Thrive will continue to work with communities that have the ambition of owning renewable energy assets and provide funding bridges and expertise to facilitate the ownership transition.</p>
<h3>Private wire generation</h3>
<p>Thrive is working on securing more sites for supporting private wire generation at industrially-sited generation sites, such as its existing projects in Dunfermline, Eye and March.</p>
<h3>Repowering mature assets</h3>
<p>Thrive operates projects such as <a title="Haverigg II wind farm" href="/our-projects/haverigg-ii-wind-farm/" data-udi="umb://document/bf81738a173c42ec81a425b15ba31763">Haverigg II </a>and <a title="Beochlich hydro electric site" href="/our-projects/beochlich-hydro-electric-site/" data-udi="umb://document/e3f0af5ecc5249d79b91852e59c0e1af">Beochlich</a> that are entering their third decade of generation. It will continue with the preparatory work on repowering (replacing the existing generation assets with new equipment) with a view to extending the life of the projects. The repowering of sites can help support the subsidy-free future, as cost savings can be achieved relative to a new site by utilising existing infrastructure, such as the grid connections.</p>
<p><em>“Thrive intends to be at the forefront of demonstrating that subsidy-free renewable electricity generation can work in the UK. We are focused on private wire opportunities and repowering of existing sites, as well as offering the Thrive Community Energy Funding Bridge to communities, so broadening ownership of renewable energy and making local assets more accessible for individuals,”</em> says Matthew.</p>
<h3>Subsidy-free</h3>
<p>While Thrive’s existing portfolio delivers financial impact from Feed in Tariff and Renewables Obligation subsidies, the future for new projects looks very different. The near elimination of financial support and significant planning constraints imposed on new onshore developments in England have largely put paid to the standard business model of the last 20 years.</p>
<p>In the future, Thrive believes that new onshore renewable energy projects will only be viable if they are more actively part of the local electricity system, perhaps combining with low cost storage, smarter and more flexible demand management, private wire, and/or peer-to-peer trading.</p>
<p>Thrive intends to be at the forefront of UK renewables development by demonstrating that subsidy-free can work and exploring opportunities to invest in both battery storage and demand side management flexibility services.</p>


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Record turnover of £15.6 million in 2017, up 15% on 2016, and a 28% growth in generation capacity to 104.9MW from 21 renewables projects across the UK.

Record year for Thrive Renewables in 2017

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<p>The Bridge of Orchy village hall was also awarded £4,000 which paid for roof and floor insulation and eligible for its proximity to our <a title="Beochlich hydro electric site" href="/projects/beochlich-hydro-electric-site/" data-id="1472">Beochlich hydro-electric site</a>. The work was undertaken as part of a wider refurbishment, bringing the hall back into use and opening in the spring of 2017.</p>
</div>
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<p>The refurbished hall provides daytime activities for mums, children and older folk fighting isolation and offering inclusion in a remote area. The hall will also offer shelter to walkers on the popular West Highland Way.</p>
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<p>With awards of up to £4,000, a whole host of changes will be possible, including insulation, draught-proofing, improved heating, LED lighting or lighting controls. There is an option to use the funding for selected professional advice leading to long term improvements in energy efficiency.</p>
</div>
<p>The fund is available to community buildings near to sustainable energy projects in which Thrive Renewables is invested. These are positioned all over the country, from Cambridgeshire to Dunfermline and from Bristol to Cumbria.</p>
</div>


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IMG_0316

Communities across the UK can apply for grants to make their shared public buildings easier and cheaper to heat thanks to the Thrive Renewables' Community Benefit Programme.

Community building grants open for 2018!

<p>Energy suppliers are in the process of rolling out smart meters which allow us to monitor our home energy use in increasingly detailed ways.  Being able to control appliances or thermostats via apps on our phones represents a huge technological step forward.  Smart appliances can also be sensitive to the frequency of the grid and adjust their demand in line with the availability of renewable power.</p>
<p>Our understanding of the systems and the choices we make in our homes are essential to make the most of these opportunities.  Purchasing the right appliances when they need replacing, using ever-improving controls to best effect and trying to avoid using power heavy appliances during peak periods will all make a difference to our home energy consumption.</p>
<p>Read the full story at the <a href="https://good-with-money.com/2018/02/22/domestic-energy-storage-wont-replace-behaviour-change/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Good With Money</a> website.</p>


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IMG_0304

We don't have to wait for smart meters and storage to become a smart consumer today. Our MD, Matthew Clayton, is interviewed by Good With Money on reducing domestic energy use and home energy bills.

Smart systems or smart behaviour

<p>The three-turbines at Mean Moor are adjacent to the original Baywind project, an historic site, and the first community owned wind farm established in 1996.</p>
<p>Rod Blunden, Chairman of Energy Prospects Co-operative said: “We are overwhelmed with the response we have received from both Energy Prospects members and the wider Renewable Energy community. It is fantastic that we have been able to bring a commercially owned wind farm into the community owned sector”.</p>
<p>The purchase demonstrates the ability of the community sector to operate in the commercial world and reflects the appetite for greater community ownership of renewable energy as an end in itself, especially important as the challenges for developing new onshore renewable electricity projects continue to grow.</p>
<p>The wind farm comprises of three turbines across the valley from the existing High Winds two turbines at Harlock Hill in south Cumbria.</p>
<p>Over 400 individuals invested in the scheme, the minimum investment was £500 with the maximum investment capped at £50,000.</p>
<p>Financing from Thrive Renewables enables communities to purchase a renewables project from a developer giving them time to raise the funds themselves and then pay back the company over an agreed period. It also provides the speed and funding certainty for the seller of a project.</p>


mean-moor

mean moor

Over 400 individuals raise an impressive £2.8m in just two weeks to refinance the Mean Moor community wind farm in Cumbria. It’s thought to be the first wind farm in the country to be transferred to community ownership from a commercial developer.

First UK wind farm transfers from commercial to community ownership

<p>And what better way to pass on the benefits of their investment with the recent agreement to supply <a href="http://www.bristol-energy.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bristol Energy</a> customers (and one of the first municipal energy companies in the UK) with clean power direct from Beochlich.</p>


<h3><strong>Facts about Beochlich hydro-electric </strong></h3>
<p>Beochlich is located on the south-east side of Loch Awe in Argyll, Scotland, the site generates 3.5GWh a year, the equivalent to nearly 1,000 UK homes.</p>
<p>Electricity at Beochlich is generated by two turbines and a generator fed by a pipeline of fresh running water. The site includes a storage reservoir which allows the flow of water to be regulated to an optimum level when rainfall is high, as well as store water, during periods of lower rainfall.  Water extracted from the Beochlich reservoir is returned to the same water course downstream.</p>
<h3><strong>Connecting more people to renewables</strong></h3>
<p>THRIVE and Bristol Energy are helping to make green energy accessible for everyone. You can get involved in many ways, through a 100% green tariff, by investing in renewable energy and by saving energy. <em>Quick energy saving wins</em> &#8211; turn off standby appliances; turn heating down a degree; wash at 30 degrees; use low energy lighting. Small changes make a difference, get more <a href="https://www.bristol-energy.co.uk/customer-care/helping-you-use-less-energy" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">energy saving tips</a>.</p>


beochlich-close-up

Beochlich close up

Our hydro-electric site at Beochlich in Scotland had its best year for generating electricity in 2017 than any other year in the history of the site!

Thrive's hydro-electric power goes to Bristol Energy customers

<p>With over 5,500 shareholders, and more than 1,000 bondholders, we’re building our investor community. We do this in two ways, through a bond or share offers when we’re looking to raise large sums for specific projects. This happens roughly every two years with the last bond offer completing in February 2017. The money raised has been put to work, generating returns and connecting more individuals to clean energy.</p>
<p>The other way to get involved and join Thrive’s community of investors is to purchase shares at our monthly share auctions run by our dedicated broker, James Sharp &amp; Co. The monthly auctions allow existing shareholders to grow their stake in Thrive and for new investors to join us and contribute to cleaning up the UK&#8217;s energy system.</p>
<h3><strong>About the share buy-back policy</strong></h3>
<ul>
<li>Shareholders are eligible to benefit from the Buy-Back policy if they have owned their shares for at least 24 months, and had their shares listed for sale on the Matched Bargain Market for a period of 12 months or more.*</li>
<li>Under the Buy-Back policy, the Company undertakes to purchase shares from eligible shareholders at a 10% discount to the <strong><a href="/investors/shareholders-2/directors-valuation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Director’s Recommended Share Price</a>.</strong></li>
<li>It is the Directors’ intention that the Buy-Back Policy will increase the liquidity of the secondary shares market and enable sellers to achieve a fair price for their shares.</li>
</ul>
<h3><strong>Next steps</strong></h3>
<ul>
<li>The initial share Buy-Back is subject to shareholder approval at the AGM on 22<sup>nd</sup><span style="font-size: 16px;"> June 2018 and the Company having adequate financial resources to fund the share Buy-Back. </span></li>
<li>Eligible shareholders will be contacted by Thrive in April and invited to confirm their interest in participating in the Buy-Back.</li>
<li>The Directors reserve the right to cease offering the Buy-Back at any time.</li>
</ul>
<p>Read and download the <strong>Buy-Back Policy</strong>.</p>


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We’ve introduced a Share Buy-Back Policy with the intention of underpinning the share trading liquidity of the secondary market of Thrive shares and to demonstrate the Directors' confidence in the Directors' Recommended Share Price.

We introduce our share buy-back policy

<p>Figures from the National Grid show that last year was the greenest year ever in terms of how Britain’s electricity is generated with onshore wind farms and renewable energy sources outproducing coal plants on more than 75 per cent of days of the year.</p>
<p>The five turbines at the Ransonmoor site, in operation since 2007, produce 26 GWH of electricity per annum, enough to power 6,600 homes for a year.</p>


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IMG_4719

Britain must retain membership of the European Internal Energy Market (IEM) if Fenland’s wind energy sector is to continue to thrive, warned Euro-MP Alex Mayer at the European Parliament.

European market essential for thriving Fenland wind - says Labour MEP

<h3><span class="button-alt"><strong>Survey results and feedback</strong></span></h3>
<p>Thank you to all our investors who took the time to complete our short survey about how we are communicating as a company. It’s important that we hear your feedback and we were pleased to receive a total of 130 individual responses.</p>
<p><span class="button-alt">Here&#8217;s a summary of how we&#8217;re improving our communications as a result of your feedback:</span></p>
<ul>
<li><span class="button-alt">We’ll keep sending out printed copies of our reports to those individuals without computers or limited access to the internet. We realise this is very important to some of our investors.</span></li>
<li>We’ll continue to provide the right balance of information in our reports that will help you as an investor to understand Thrive’s growth and performance. We shall communicate this information using clear examples and plain English.</li>
<li>We have put together a section on the website to explain how we are funding community projects. Instead of using the term: ‘mezzanine’, we have now called this type of finance model, the ‘Thrive Community Bridge’. You can understand more about it <a href="/investment-criteria/community-bridge/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a></li>
<li>We’ve made it easier to understand how to ‘sell’ thrive shares – it is the same way in which you buy them, through our monthly share auctions. We have made this clearer on the website <a href="/for-investors/buy-and-sell-shares/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a>. If in any doubt, please <a href="http://www.thriverenewables.co.uk/about-us/contact-us/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">contact us</a> and we can explain further.</li>
</ul>


As part of our Half Year Report we asked investors how we're doing with our communications. Here are the results and thank you to everyone who took part in the survey. The survey is now closed.

Thrive investor survey results

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<p>The Government proposed a fleet of six new nuclear power plants to be located at Hinkley Point, Sizewell, Bradwell, Moorside, Wylfa and Oldbury. The plan is to deliver a third of the UK’s power from nuclear by 2030.  Whilst I am 100% behind the low carbon agenda, and acknowledge the need for a mix of energy sources in the medium term, I’m not convinced that six new nuclear plants provide the flexibility and shape a more sustainable system needs, or represents good value for money for the UK’s “industry and hard working families”.</p>
<p>Andrea Leadsom MP recently shared that <em>“Hinkley C is only the first in a series of proposed new nuclear projects in the pipeline. It will blaze a trail for further nuclear development.” </em>A frightening choice of words!</p>
<p>Let&#8217;s recap on last year, plans for Hinkley C on the Somerset coast were already well underway, a Government backed fixed price for the power to be generated had been offered to the investors who were willing to build. <a href="http://news.sky.com/story/hinkley-point-c-faces-state-aid-legal-threat-10253456" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">£2.5 billion</a> had already been spent, ground works have commenced, and a consortium of the majority French State Owned EDF and China General Nuclear (CGN) had given the go ahead to undertake this enormous infrastructure project. The Government completed the picture, having given its go-ahead for Hinkley last September and it was all back on again with the addition of &#8216;significant new safeguards.&#8217;</p>
<h3>Time</h3>
<p>Hinkley C is planning to be exporting electricity to the grid by 2025. At the heart of the project is a European Pressurised Reactor (EPR), known as the 3rd generation nuclear reactors.  Whilst I can’t claim to have an understanding of the engineering and technology involved, the track record with delivering the EPRs does cause concern.  Projects employing similar technology in China, Finland and France are all years behind build schedule (six and nine years late in the case of France and Finland respectively) and significantly over budget. We live in hope that lessons are being learnt and that we will not have to wait for many years with an open cheque book for this project to be delivered.</p>
<p>However, this delay creates an opportunity for the alternatives.  If the current planned energisation of Hinkley C is 2025, and we assume an optimistic five year delay to 2030, then there is a gap in UK electricity generation capacity which is required to ‘keep the lights on’. New Coal and Gas fired power plants are unlikely to be built in the interim.</p>
<p>This uncertainty and delay could well be an opportunity for renewables. Few energy generation technologies can be installed and energised as quickly as wind, solar and hydro, with build times as short as four months, and if planning was more straight forwards, up to two years.</p>
<p>If planning decisions could be made in a more objective rather than subjective way, less like a very expensive game of Battle Ships and more of a strategic and pragmatic approach, then Renewables could plug the gap. If after 15 – 20 years these giant infrastructure projects are successfully built, tested and energised, then the renewables can supplement the grid with lower cost energy or be dismantled and re-erected elsewhere in the world.</p>
<h3>Money</h3>
<p>The energy system needs investment, the UK’s traditional, enormous, centralised-system coal generation plants are being retired, and despite our efforts with energy efficiency and another successful year of commissioning new renewable capacity, the National Grid’s reserve margin is shrinking.</p>
<p>So we agree, we need to invest, but what to invest in?</p>
<p>Cost estimates for the Hinkley C Nuclear project started at £6 billion, grew to £18 billion over the last 12 months and now both the National Audit Office and DECC (as was) are projecting a cost of <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/business-36794172" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">£37 billion</a>, even at £18 billion this is the UK’s largest infrastructure project. So as projected costs increase, is this money well spent, and what are our alternatives?</p>
<p>Assuming the nuclear plant will cost £18 billion, then one alternative would be to build 9,125MW of wind, solar and hydro which can generate the same amount of energy as the proposed 3GW nuclear plant.  However, there are differences between the nuclear and the renewables solution:</p>
<ol>
<li>The cost of installing renewable generation and storage is falling rapidly, whilst it would appear that the cost of Nuclear is growing and being built within undefined timeframes;</li>
<li>Renewable energy projects don’t generate hazardous waste and their decommissioning costs are minimal, this is not the case for Nuclear Energy;</li>
<li>We would have some money left in the bank with the renewable option.  The Energy sector could deliver material improvements in energy efficiency and flexibility with the £700 million change after building the renewable projects.  If we consider the latest estimate of £37 billion cost of Hinkley C, then we would have over £19 billion left to invest in smart systems, storage and energy efficiency to improve the electricity system to allow it to utilise more renewable generation.</li>
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<p>The UK’s renewable energy capacity grew to 30GW in 2015, having installed 5.4 GW of new renewable generation over the course of 2015<sup>[1] </sup>. On this basis the required renewable generation capacity to match the generation of Hinkley C could be delivered in less than two years at a lower cost. I fully appreciate that a mix of energy sources is desirable, but my question is: Is Nuclear the best use of investment in the sector, and can we not be a little smarter in our approach?  We could deliver revolutionary, structural change in terms of energy efficiency, flexibility and storage with a budget of £19 billion, ultimately requiring less generation capacity, lowering cost and reducing Green House Gas emissions.</p>
<p>Even as technology stands at the moment wind, solar and hydro can undercut the £101/MWh<sup>[2] </sup>which has been promised to Hinkley C by more than 25%. When savings are reaching billions of pounds, there is scope to take more innovative steps to both the demand and supply of electricity.</p>
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<p><em>[1]  DECC Energy Trends 2016</em></p>
<p><em>[2]  The £92.50 / MWh Feed in Tariff offered to Hinkley C is in 2012 money. Adjusting the Tariff to 2016 is £101 / MWh</em></p>
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Hinkley will take at least ten years to build, in the meantime, can renewables step up and bridge the gap?

Big plans, time is money - The nuclear agenda

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<p><span class="TextRun SCXW263526343 BCX8" data-contrast="auto"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW263526343 BCX8">Below we summarise the updates relating to green policies and share our thoughts on where we would like to see more clarity and commitment as we look forward to COP28 and the government’s next significant update: the Autumn Budget. </span></span><span class="EOP SCXW263526343 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}"> </span></p>
<h3>What were the measures relating to clean energy?</h3>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">As part of the speech, the government announced that it is aiming to attract record levels of investment into renewables, but very little detail around how this would be achieved. What investors need is certainty – not just a line in a speech. </span><a href="https://www.energy-uk.org.uk/news/uk-falling-behind-in-race-for-clean-energy-investment/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span data-contrast="none">Research by Energy UK</span></a><span data-contrast="auto"> has found that between now and 2050, an additional £500 billion will need to be invested into the UK power sector in order for us to meet our net zero goals. This represents a big growth opportunity but also makes stability and certainty absolutely crucial for the sector. </span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">In addition to investment, the announcement noted plans to reform grid connections, which is one of the major barriers developers are currently facing and is keeping hundreds of gigawatts of wind, solar and battery storage locked in a years-long queue. Again, it’s great to see this issue recognised but the devil is in the detail, and we await further clarity on how this challenge will actually be overcome.  </span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">It’s fair to say that these positives were largely overshadowed by the announcement that the government plans to legislate annual North Sea oil and gas licensing rounds, based on the argument that it would help the “country to transition to net zero by 2050, without adding undue burden on households”. This is something that Thrive absolutely disputes. There is no net zero future that includes oil and gas. Are we not seeing the proof of that on a near daily basis? We know that burning fossil fuels to generate energy releases huge amounts of polluting CO2 into the atmosphere, leading to global heating which is causing dangerous freak weather events around the world. There is also no proof that oil and gas will have a positive impact on energy security – especially as these resources will be sold and consumed on the global market – or that it will help the thousands of households dealing with fuel poverty as a result of the ongoing energy and cost of living crises. </span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">This comes after prime minister Rishi Sunak recently back pedalled on other green policies. In September, he announced that he was delaying the ban on petrol cars, extending the deadline to replace gas boilers and even</span> <span data-contrast="auto">cancelling new energy efficiency regulations for private landlords which could cost their tenants almost £8bn in higher bills <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66864122" target="_blank" rel="noopener">over the next decade</a>.</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}"> </span></p>
<h3>How should we be moving forward?</h3>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">We believe that the best way to boost energy security, reduce household bills for consumers and achieve net zero is to accelerate our transition to a homegrown, renewables-based energy system. Onshore wind and solar are amongst the cheapest ways to generate electricity today, however these naturally replenished energy sources are massively underutilised. What we need to see is the government back up its commitment to achieving record levels of renewable investment through solid policies that not only allow these projects to be built but actively encourage them. And we’re not alone in this thinking. </span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">As Conservative MP Chris Skidmore outlined in his independent Mission Zero report, net zero is the economic opportunity of the 21</span><span data-contrast="auto">st</span><span data-contrast="auto"> century – giving the impression that it’s an expensive luxury, rather than a necessity, is dangerous. In fact, consultancy Cambridge Econometrics, on behalf of the Climate Change Committee, found that the UK will see around 2% additional GDP growth due to new jobs, increased economic activity, lower fossil fuel imports and cost savings such as reduced household bills because of the transition.</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">We also know that the window for avoiding the worst effects of the climate emergency is getting rapidly smaller. A recent study by Imperial College London estimates that the world will exhaust its remaining carbon budget for limiting global warming to 1.5°C by the end of this decade if emissions continue at current levels. Now is not the time to be slowing down. Instead, the UK should be seizing the opportunity and setting an example for developing economies to follow suit. Unfortunately, the issuing of new oil and gas licences is another setback and directly contradicts this need for acceleration. </span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">As always, Thrive’s response is action. We will continue to invest in and build new onshore wind, solar and geothermal energy as we know that these projects are what will allow generations to come to enjoy a fairer, cleaner world. </span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}"> </span></p>
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We were pleased to see the government seeking ‘record levels’ of renewable investment, as well as promising an acceleration in grid connection times, but its decision to issue new oil and gas licences is a big disappointment.

There is no such thing as 'net zero oil and gas': We respond to the King's speech

<p>We expect these community hubs will continue to act as warm and welcoming refuges for residents this year in the face of the ongoing cost of living crisis. In addition, we’re providing energy essentials training to community volunteers in order to help local people improve energy efficiency in their homes.</p>
<p>A record number of applications were made for round seven of our Community Benefit Programme which is run by national energy charity, Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE).</p>


<p>In total we have awarded £37,692.89 of funding to the following 10 community centres across the UK:</p>
<ul>
<li>Debenham Shed</li>
<li>Halton Community Association</li>
<li>Littleport Scout and Guide Joint Headquarters Management Committee</li>
<li>Millom Methodist Church</li>
<li>Orkney Natural History Society</li>
<li>PCC St Peters Church March</li>
<li>Peedie Kirk URC</li>
<li>Tivetshall Village Hall</li>
<li>The Groundwork South Trust Limited</li>
<li>Young Bristol</li>
</ul>
<p>The grants will enable these community organisations to make crucial energy efficiency improvements to their buildings ahead of winter, such as roof, window and wall insulation, double glazing and LED lighting. CSE are also offering a series of webinars for these communities on topics including fuel poverty awareness and basic energy advice, community approaches to tackling fuel poverty and energy efficiency in community buildings.</p>
<p>Since we first started the programme in 2016, we have awarded 61 grants to 50 buildings, totalling over £190,000 nationally and saving 85 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year.</p>


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20230214ThriveRenewablesEastonCommunityCentre -106

We’ve awarded energy efficiency grants to community buildings across the UK, in addition to energy essentials training.

Thrive donates over £37,000 to help communities improve energy efficiency in record year for community benefit programme

<p>Our new crowdfunded share offer is now open, giving you the opportunity to invest in new clean energy projects which cut carbon emissions, help reduce household bills and benefit communities.</p>
<p>The climate emergency is worsening, manifesting itself in heatwaves, droughts and catastrophic flooding around the world. But there is still time to act. By transitioning to a renewables-based energy system, we remove the need to burn polluting fossil fuels.</p>
<p>That’s why we have ambitious plans to build more onshore wind, solar, geothermal and battery storage projects over the next five years, with an aim to double the clean energy generation capacity in our portfolio. To finance this, we’re kicking off with a £2 million raise via the Triodos crowdfunding platform as part of a wider fundraising campaign to raise £10 million in the next six months and a total of £50 million by 2028.</p>


<p>We already have a busy pipeline of projects to deliver including 192 MW of new solar PV and battery storage through our £20 million investment in Ethical Power. We also plan to fund more ‘direct wire’ projects, giving UK businesses access to a direct supply of clean electricity, and community energy groups building their own clean energy projects locally. We recently invested £4 million in Scottish community energy group, ATTIX CIC, so that it could move forward with constructing Scotland’s first subsidy free, 100% community-owned onshore wind turbine just outside Kilbirnie, North Ayrshire.</p>
<p>These new deals complement our existing portfolio of 22 operational projects which generated £5.9 million of operating profits and delivered the equivalent of 28,000 tonnes of carbon emission reductions in the first half of 2023.</p>


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<p>Other recent development projects include providing £4 million funding to construct England’s largest onshore wind turbine, which is wholly community-owned, and a 20 MW battery in our home city of Bristol, plus a total of £6 million investment in United Downs – the UK’s first deep geothermal electricity generation plant in Cornwall, which also has the potential for the extraction of lithium for battery manufacture.</p>
<p>Now open, the minimum investment in the crowdfunding offer is £243 (100 shares) and shares can be held in a self-invested personal pension (SIPP). We are targeting 5-8% return per year through a combination of dividends and increasing share value. As with all investments, returns are not guaranteed, and investors may not get back all, or any, of their original investment.</p>
<p>For the first half of 2023, we posted an operating profit of £5.9 million and a turnover of £12.3 million. With £110 million of assets under management, shareholders received a 12 pence per share annual dividend in July 2023. Investors should note that past performance is no indication of future likely performance.</p>
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