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From South Cornwall to the Orkneys, from onshore wind and solar to geothermal, our diverse portfolio of clean energy projects spans the whole of the UK.

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kessingland

Latest news

As well as being our largest project to date, the deal marks another major step in our ambitious growth plans to double generation capacity within the next five years. It is the second project to be funded by Fair Play Clean Energy Ltd, Thrive’s Joint Venture with TopCashback Sustainability, which brings together a combined £80 million in capital to fund new clean energy projects in the UK.
Construction of the proposed 14-turbine site is expected to start in 2025, with commissioning planned by the end of 2026. Once operational, it will be capable of generating up to 149,400 MWh of clean electricity per year, the equivalent of powering 46,100 average UK homes<a href="#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a>, and delivering 65,300 tonnes of emissions reductions<a href="#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2">[2]</a>.
The Whitelaw Brae wind project was originally owned by developer, BayWa r.e., with Thrive acquiring the project in December 2024 following the successful completion of a competitive tender in October 2024.
Thrive has a record of delivering community and shared ownership, both at our own sites and by providing funding for community-owned energy projects. Now, we’ve acquired Whitelaw Brae, we aim to facilitate shared ownership at this site with Ripple Energy&#8217;s latest coop.

The wind farm site is located 15 km north of Moffat and 3 km south of Tweedsmuir. It is also near the River Tweed which, as part of the £25 million Destination Tweed initiative, will see the creation of a 113-mile source to sea River Tweed Trail connecting communities and attractions along the length of the river from Moffat to Berwick-upon-Tweed. The project aims to improve the landscape and river habitat and offer a unique experience to locals and visitors alike, expected to be completed across five years.  
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[1] Based on an annual generation of 149GWh and calculated using the most recent statistics from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) showing that UK average domestic household consumption is 3,239kWh per annum <a id="menur1gr" class="fui-Link ___1q1shib f2hkw1w f3rmtva f1ewtqcl fyind8e f1k6fduh f1w7gpdv fk6fouc fjoy568 figsok6 f1s184ao f1mk8lai fnbmjn9 f1o700av f13mvf36 f1cmlufx f9n3di6 f1ids18y f1tx3yz7 f1deo86v f1eh06m1 f1iescvh fhgqx19 f1olyrje f1p93eir f1nev41a f1h8hb77 f1lqvz6u f10aw75t fsle3fq f17ae5zn" title="https://www.renewableuk.com/energypulse/ukwed/" href="https://www.renewableuk.com/energypulse/ukwed/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Link https://www.renewableuk.com/energypulse/ukwed/">https://www.renewableuk.com/energypulse/ukwed/</a>
[1] Calculated using DESNZ’s “all non-renewable fuels” emissions statistic of 437 tonnes of carbon dioxide per GWh of electricity supplied in the Digest of UK Energy Statistics (July 2024) <a id="menur1gt" class="fui-Link ___1q1shib f2hkw1w f3rmtva f1ewtqcl fyind8e f1k6fduh f1w7gpdv fk6fouc fjoy568 figsok6 f1s184ao f1mk8lai fnbmjn9 f1o700av f13mvf36 f1cmlufx f9n3di6 f1ids18y f1tx3yz7 f1deo86v f1eh06m1 f1iescvh fhgqx19 f1olyrje f1p93eir f1nev41a f1h8hb77 f1lqvz6u f10aw75t fsle3fq f17ae5zn" title="https://www.renewableuk.com/energypulse/ukwed/" href="https://www.renewableuk.com/energypulse/ukwed/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Link https://www.renewableuk.com/energypulse/ukwed/">https://www.renewableuk.com/energypulse/ukwed/</a>

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Thrive Renewables

From funding some of the UK’s first onshore wind farms in the early 1990s to a new 14-turbine site, we’re harnessing the country’s abundant wind resource to deliver clean power to homes and businesses.

We’ve acquired the development rights for our biggest project to date – a 57MW onshore wind farm in Scotland

Featured

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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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!

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.
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.
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.

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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

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.
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”.
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.
The wind farm comprises of three turbines across the valley from the existing High Winds two turbines at Harlock Hill in south Cumbria.
Over 400 individuals invested in the scheme, the minimum investment was £500 with the maximum investment capped at £50,000.
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.

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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

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.

<h3>Facts about Beochlich hydro-electric </h3>
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.
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.
<h3>Connecting more people to renewables</h3>
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. Quick energy saving wins &#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>.

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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

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.
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.
<h3>About the share buy-back policy</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 <a href="/investors/shareholders-2/directors-valuation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Director’s Recommended Share Price</a>.</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>Next steps</h3>
<ul>
<li>The initial share Buy-Back is subject to shareholder approval at the AGM on 22nd June 2018 and the Company having adequate financial resources to fund the share Buy-Back. </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>
Read and download the Buy-Back Policy.

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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

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.
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.

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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>Survey results and feedback</h3>
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.
Here&#8217;s a summary of how we&#8217;re improving our communications as a result of your feedback:
<ul>
<li>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.</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>

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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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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”.
Andrea Leadsom MP recently shared that “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.” A frightening choice of words!
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;
<h3>Time</h3>
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.
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.
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.
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.
<h3>Money</h3>
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.
So we agree, we need to invest, but what to invest in?
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?
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:
<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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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[1] . 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.
Even as technology stands at the moment wind, solar and hydro can undercut the £101/MWh[2] 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.
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[1]  DECC Energy Trends 2016
[2]  The £92.50 / MWh Feed in Tariff offered to Hinkley C is in 2012 money. Adjusting the Tariff to 2016 is £101 / MWh
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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

This is where Thrive steps in. It’s our mission to power the transition to a sustainable energy future by helping people meaningfully connect with clean energy projects. In 2016, we developed a funding model called: ‘The Thrive Community Bridge’ as a way of responding to this growing desire for community owned renewables. We’ve already supported communities with £12 million investment into wind and solar projects across the UK and we want to do more projects like this.
<h3>We empower communities to Thrive:</h3>
We give communities the time they need to raise their own funds through local ‘crowdfunding’ or/and via a bank loan – this is why our finance model is called a ‘bridge.’
<ul>
<li>Our funding gives communities a sense of local ownership and empowerment to say: ‘Together, we own our renewable energy at source.’</li>
<li>We are uniting communities through a common movement to invest in and own clean energy.</li>
</ul>
<h3>We offer speed and flexibility:</h3>
<ul>
<li>We act quickly and efficiently to help communities get the most out of their purchase.</li>
<li>We are experts in acquiring and funding a range of small-to-mid scale projects.</li>
<li>We offer flexible finance for a range of project types: hydro, solar, wind and storage.</li>
<li>We have access to a wide network of industry contacts, partners, suppliers, and industry bodies.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Our investment terms are transparent:</h3>
<ul>
<li>We fund investments between £0.5M and £20M.</li>
<li>We invest in proven 100% sustainable energy projects.</li>
<li>We structure the finance to respond to the needs of the community and the specifics of each project.</li>
</ul>

We are supporting communities in taking ownership of their local energy projects. See how our finance model called the 'Thrive Community Bridge' works.

The Thrive community bridge

The day took an unusual turn when one visitor asked: ‘What’s that strange thing outside on the tree?’
Luckily, local ecologist Bernice Roberts, of the Landmark Practice, was on hand to advise. To their amazement they discovered a huge natural ‘honeycomb’ beehive spilling out of a bat box attached to a tree.

In perfect timing, Bernice discovered, to her surprise, that the face painter at the open day was a local bee enthusiast who put her in touch with local natural beehive co-ordinators, Sal Pearson and Roger Wood.
It was a race against the clock to save the beehive as the weather had taken a turn for the worst.

Mark Doughty, Principle Ecologist at Wessex Water, landowners of the site, co-ordinated saving the bees. It all worked out well as Mark has been connected to bees all his life, his father is a veteran beekeeper. He naturally stepped in to help save the colony.

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A rare, giant beehive is creating a buzz among experts after taking up residence inside a bat box at Thrive's wind farm in Avonmouth.

Giant 'Honeycomb' beehive discovery

We agree with much of the high level direction of what Dieter Helm is recommending. We must achieve greater energy efficiencies, at home and in industry. We must transition to a smarter energy system, where supply and demand are dynamic in responding to energy availability. We’ve long been advocates of a functional carbon dioxide emissions market, where there is a cost attached to emitting greenhouse gases (GHG), the polluter pays, thus driving low and zero GHG emission solutions forwards. Where investment decisions are influenced directly by environmental performance and where the market can successfully identify employ the least cost GHG emission abatement technologies.
One of the study’s conclusions is that the growth in renewables&#8217; contribution to the electricity sector (delivering almost <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/612492/Energy_Trends_March_2017.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">quarter of the UK&#8217;s electricity</a> in 2016 , and anticipated to reach 30% this year) has lowered the wholesale price of electricity. There is acknowledgment that following the falling cost of renewable technologies, that going forwards renewable generation offers least cost electricity.
Helm has also established that support for the proliferation of renewable electricity which has been delivered to date makes up <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/654902/Cost_of_Energy_Review.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">20% of the cost of our electricity</a> in the UK. So, what does this mean for the average household in the UK? On average <a href="https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/infographic-bills-prices-and-profits" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">we pay £554 p.a.</a> for our domestic electricity consumption. So that implies we are paying £111 p.a., or £9.25 per home, per month for achieving one of the largest positive shifts in environmental performance the UK has ever seen. I fully appreciate that for our lowest income households £9 per month has a material impact. However, as the world’s 5th largest economy, it is incumbent on us to demonstrate some environmental leadership. The way electricity is sold could address the sad reality that those with the lowest incomes pay most for their utilities.
So, what could we be doing with our £9 per month? Sign up to an internet music or film streaming subscription, buy five newspapers, enjoy a posh coffee every week, or, deliver a material reduction in GHG emissions through our electricity system. What is being achieved with our £9 per month? As mentioned above, we are sourcing more than 25% of electricity from renewable sources, which means that annually there is now 1.6 tCO2e of emissions released into the atmosphere to generate our <a href="http://www.renewableuk.com/page/UKWEDExplained" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">average 3,900kWh</a> household electricity consumption. If we wind back the clock to 2008, this was 2.0 tCO2e, and in 1990 <a href="https://www.parliament.uk/documents/post/postpn_383-carbon-footprint-electricity-generation.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">2.8 tCO2e</a>.  Progress indeed. This has been achieved by reducing our dependence on finite fossil fuels, and increasing our use of abundant natural, renewable sources of energy.
However, there isn’t time for complacency as the GHG emission intensity of our electricity needs to halve and halve again (and quickly) from today’s levels if we are to achieve our 2°C ceiling which we and 168 other nations have ratified following the Paris Climate Summit in 2015.
Whilst we’d prefer to have been part of an energy revolution which had miraculously leaped over 25 years of technology development, climatic understanding, public consciousness and political thinking, the reality is that change takes time, and the leap we’ve collectively made from ‘alternative energy’ to renewables and the associated environmental benefit has taken time and has a price, a price which is falling all the time and will dissipate over the coming years as existing facilities are retired and replaced with the next generation of best in class technology. So we’ve made the leap, we are delivering <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/612492/Energy_Trends_March_2017.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">over 24% of our power using renewables</a>, now we can benefit from our learning, by more efficiently delivering the next 75% whilst simultaneously lowering the cost of our electricity.
How many of us, given a transparent choice would prefer to pay £9, or perhaps more per month to improve air quality and deliver the associated health benefits, reduce the need to redesign our coastline to defend us from rising sea levels and more ferocious weather systems, keep our finite resources in the ground for when we really need them, and be proud of the legacy we are passing to future generations?
It feels like an investment worth making.

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The government has today released the Cost of Energy Review to make recommendations on how we make energy cheaper in the UK whilst also delivering the environmental imperatives.

The cost of UK renewables - Good value, or great values?

Thrive’s <a href="/about-us/meet-the-team-1/">Board and Management</a> team: Matthew Clayton, Monika Paplaczyk, Katie Gordon and Alex Connor, as well as valued partners, Tom Harwood from Abundance were there to share the good news and network with some of the UK’s finest sustainable fund managers and organisations.
Thank you to everyone including, Triodos Bank Corporate Finance team, who has been instrumental in making the bond offer with IFISA such a success raising £10M for green energy projects and attracting over 900 new positive investors to Thrive.
The awards are aimed at fund managers and organisations who are at the forefront of facilitating or investing in themes that take into account the environment, ethics, as well as social and corporate responsibility, and whose work promotes a greater understanding into the sector&#8217;s potential.
Now in their tenth year, Investment Week&#8216;s Sustainable Investment Awards offer an opportunity to showcase expertise and commitment to investment factors that take into account environmental, social and ethical criteria as well as good corporate behaviour. Factors that are increasingly in demand by investors and a growing sector of the investment industry.

<h3>About Thrive&#8217;s award entry</h3>
In 2016/2017 Thrive raised a total of £13M for renewable energy projects through innovative online crowdfunding and was the first bond offer to be available through the Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA).
<ul>
<li>The Thrive Plc bond offer raised £9.97m for new sustainable energy projects in the UK exceeding its target of £7.5m by 33 per cent.</li>
<li>The funds are now being deployed into onshore wind and solar projects with the aim of generating a further 36,000 UK homes with clean electricity in 2018.</li>
<li>933 individuals invested their money in Thrive Renewable’s bond from just £5 online.</li>
<li>Whilst the 5% interest rate and IFISA benefits provided a healthy incentive to investors, Thrive’s bond demonstrates strong investor appetite and support for UK renewable energy.</li>
<li>Working with Triodos Bank’s corporate finance specialists and Abundance Investment, Thrive was able to offer Bondholders the opportunity to include their investment in their IFISA.</li>
</ul>

We are thrilled to have been recognised for the category award for 'Innovation (non-fund)' for our successful green energy bond with IFISA.

Thrive Renewables is 'highly commended' for Investment Week's 'Sustainable Awards' 2017

The ban, first introduced by former PM David Cameron in 2015, meant an objection from just one person could stop a new onshore wind turbine from being built in England. It also meant that any new development had to be constructed in an area identified as suitable for onshore wind as part of the council’s local plan (footnote 54 in the National Planning Policy Framework) – a requirement which is not applied to any other infrastructure project.  
But with many UK households feeling the effects of the ongoing energy and cost of living crises, the government has faced increasing pressure to ease these planning restrictions so that the country can start benefitting from cheaper, cleaner power. 
<h3>What exactly has the government said? </h3>
The government confirmed that it is streamlining planning permission for new onshore wind farms with immediate effect, claiming that the changes will allow ‘local areas [to] have a greater say in how onshore wind projects should be considered, ultimately resulting in electricity bill savings and increased national energy security’. 
According to the government website, ‘The measures include broadening the ways that suitable locations can be identified, including by communities, and speeding up the process of allocating sites by giving alternatives to the local plan process. This will ensure the whole community has a say, not just a small number of objectors – paving the way for more onshore wind projects to come online where they have community support.’

One issue with the government’s announcement is the continued lack of clarity around ‘community support’ and how they will be expected to demonstrate this. We have a robust planning process in place for all other infrastructure projects, whether it be housing, roads or other renewable energy technologies, that allow for and take into account community feedback. So why, for onshore wind, are we asking communities to proactively evidence that they’re in support of a project?  
The deviation in requirements suggests that there’s a presumption that the general public are against onshore wind. This is simply not the case – according to the government’s own figures, just 12% oppose a wind farm in their own community. 
<h3>What does it mean moving forward? </h3>
While we await a secondary announcement in the Autumn, it looks like these changes will, at best, make it slightly less difficult to build new onshore windfarms in England. 
We know that onshore wind can generate cleaner, cheaper and homegrown electricity that helps keep household bills down, but the government is failing to treat it like any other infrastructure project. What we really want to see is a level playing field and a removal of footnote 54 from the National Planning Policy Framework.  
The Ambition Community Energy (ACE) turbine in Bristol is proof that onshore wind is not only popular with communities but can have tangible economic and social benefits too. Profits from electricity sales from the 4.2 MW turbine will be reinvested back into the Lawrence Weston community, while the ACE team are also planning to set up an Energy Learning Zone, which will give local residents the opportunity to upskill and learn about green careers. 
As proud funders of the ACE turbine, the only onshore wind farm to be built in England so far this year, we will continue working with people and businesses to make projects happen and promote the benefits of local generation. 
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Wind turbine NO LOGO

After a campaign from backbench MPs, the government announced that it is ‘loosening’ planning restrictions on onshore wind in England.

Has the UK really lifted the de facto ban on onshore wind in England?

After 22 years, you can imagine how productive a life these blades have had – generating over 88 GWh of clean electricity and travelling just over eight million miles in total. That’s the equivalent to making a quarter of a million return journeys from Thrive’s office in Bristol to Sigurd in an electric vehicle!
The blades now need replacing in order to extend the operational life of Sigurd. In some instances, it’s possible to reuse blades when a whole turbine is decommissioned, which is the exercise we undertook when repowering our Caton Moor wind farm in Lancashire. However, when blades are calculated to reach the end of their life, reuse isn’t possible. This raises the question; how can we dispose of the blades in the most sustainable way?
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Although the blades from Sigurd can’t be reused for renewable energy generation, they can be repurposed. With the new rotor now fitted at Sigurd and the old blades taken off, we’re pleased to be working with <a href="https://www.reblade.co.uk/about-us">ReBlade</a> to repurpose as much of the blades as possible. They will be turned into useful items for businesses, councils and communities, which could include sustainable bike shelters, EV charging stations, or even bespoke dining tables.

Made primarily from fiberglass and other composite materials, wind turbine blades are difficult to recycle. ReBlade is the first UK company to decommission turbine blades without the use of landfill, pioneering innovative approaches to blade handling that enable circular end-destinations for blade waste.

sigurd-1

Sigurd 1

The 22-year-old turbine blades that have reached end-of-life will be repurposed into furniture for councils, communities and businesses.

Turbines to tabletops - We're working with Reblade to reduce waste at our Sigurd wind farm

In <a href="https://www.positive.news/society/how-uk-businesses-can-ramp-up-progress-on-the-sdgs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">our latest article with Positive News UK,</a> you can find out how the UK is progressing in building a fair and sustainable future, and how businesses can make a tangible difference to people and planet. You can also find out more about how Thrive’s work supports the UN SDGs via our <a href="https://www.thriverenewables.co.uk/thriverenewablesimpactreport.co.uk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Impact Report here</a>.
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Rooftop solar TR Olympus Power

For Global Goals Week, we discuss the role of businesses in protecting the planet and tackling poverty in support of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

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