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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

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Heat Networks are an energy efficient and cost efficient way to decarbonize heat, especially in areas of concentrated demand i.e. densely populated and mixed use areas (commercial, industrial, public and residential) such as urban centres.
In the UK, only 2% of heat is currently supplied by heat networks however the government, in its 2015 autumn review announced £320m capital allocation to the Heat Networks Investment Programme (HNIP) over the next 5 years. This is expected to support UK’s development of heat networks, to provide impetus to necessary innovation and to leverage an additional capital investment of around £2bn into the sector over the next 10 years.
<h3>Investment environment in the UK</h3>
The UK has a long way to go to fully exploit the potential of heat networks. The networks that have been built to date have been funded largely by public sector sponsors e.g. local authorities and private sector owner-operators trying to meet energy efficiency targets on new-builds. To achieve the desired scale and the build rates needed to realise heat network’s carbon reduction contribution, a greater diversity and breadth of investors is key.
<h3>Heat, energy decarbonisations and heat networks</h3>
Heating and hot water account for over 80% of domestic and just under 60% of non-domestic energy consumption, making heat decarbonsiation extremely important for UK to meet its legally binding carbon reduction target set in the Climate Change Act, as well as to deliver on the commitments made in the Paris Agreement.
Nearly 70% of current heating comes from natural gas and for UK to achieve its low carbon targets requires a dual focus on overall greater energy efficiency and the use of heat networks
This paper highlights the scope and potential of this opportunity and request for your feedback, your thoughts and questions that you may have on the ‘Heat Networks Opportunity’ after reading this paper. Please email <a href="mailto:news@thriverenewables.co.uk">news@thriverenewables.co.uk</a>
This information was taken from the Heat Networks report produced by ESC and supported by Thrive Renewables. <a title="2017-02 Heat Investment in the UK.pdf" href="https://www.thriverenewables.co.uk/media/1428/2017-02-heat-investment-in-the-uk.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-id="1873">Read the full report here</a>.
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Thrive has been supporting Energy Systems Catapult (ESC) in a piece of research around the opportunity for UK investment in Heat Networks.

Should we be investing in heat networks?

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Despite this significant contribution, renewables are often criticised for being ‘intermittent’ as they don’t generate 24/7/365. Whilst renewable generation is reliant on natural resources (wind, sunlight, rainfall) I prefer to use the term variability &#8211; a more appropriate description as solar, wind and hydro output can be forecast accurately, providing the National Grid advance notice of how much will be generated by each wind, solar and hydro project. However, the lowest cost renewable energy sources are not able to provide the shape required to meet the significant swings in daily electricity demand, so flexible generation power stations are necessary as part of a transitional energy system.
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The market dictates that it is the most expensive and polluting generators (often, diesel or oil fired and less efficient coal and gas) which are responsible for meeting peaks of demand which occur daily between four and seven in the evening. Therefore the onus falls on us, the consumers, to step up and address the shape of our energy demand to both reduce the use of the most carbon intensive generators, to allow increased contribution of renewables and to reduce the cost of energy to consumers.
<h3>Shaping energy demand</h3>
There are three approaches that can be taken to tackle the shape of energy demand. Firstly, we can take it upon ourselves, as individuals and businesses, to reduce demand and use energy more consciously and efficiently. Another option would be for the energy companies to better match the shape of demand and supply to order to avoid the expensive and GHG emission intensive spikes. Renewables could also be the answer – by looking into ways to store electricity generated by renewable sources, we could develop ways to allow surplus in off peak generation to contribute to dealing with peak demand.
It’s time to look at both sides of this equation. At Thrive Renewables, we characterise these measures as the enabling environment, where not only electricity supply, but also demand will evolve to better utilise natural resources. This would see us build a system where renewables can contribute over 50 per cent of power to the grid, reserving use of precious fossil fuels for times they are needed the most. In other words, this system would maximise the utilisation of energy which is freely and infinitely available and minimise the consumption of finite and harmful resources.
<h3>Enabling environment in practice</h3>
To implement this, we need to all take active steps to shape energy demand. At home, work and recreation we can think about when we use power. Do we need to operate our most energy intensive appliances (immersion heaters, tumble dryers, washing machines) at peak demand periods, or can we set them to run at periods of lower demand, lowering the peak and smoothing demand?  We are already seeing industrial consumers managing their consumption to take the pressure off of the grid at peak times.  We’d hope that in time domestic appliances will be manufactured which are sensitive to peak demand, which automatically reduce their energy requirements when the network is stretched.  In the mean time we can consider energy efficiency measures, where we can contribute to lowering the overall demand of energy.
On a larger scale, there are industry level changes that can be made. At Thrive, we’re looking at ways to integrate storage into our renewable generation projects, where we store a proportion of the power generated, then release the stored electricity to the grid when demand peaks. This is a development in progress as storage options are growing and feasibility is on the horizon.
We’re also exploring demand side management tools, where industry and larger consumers of energy automatically trim their demand for power when peaks are forecast, taking the stress out of the grid and reducing the use of the most expensive and polluting sources of power.  Office buildings would not notice if the air conditioning or heating was switched off for ½ an hour to reduce a spike in demand, yet the aggregate impact of consumption dipping takes the top of the peak, requiring less fossil fuel to be burnt.
<h3>Shared responsibility for energy</h3>
The energy system will have to change from a demand-led, centralised system to one where we all take responsibility. In addition to us being mindful about energy use there is also the possibility of domestic and commercial systems and appliances which can respond to the availability (or lack of availability) of power becoming mainstream.
Electric vehicles, for example, can be charged using renewable sources and discharged not only for travel, but can also be plugged into homes and offices releasing power back to contribute to satisfying peak demand. Many of us already have an energy storage device in our homes, our hot water tank, which can play a role in balancing the system.  Additionally, domestic appliances will be able to tweak demand for heat, refrigeration, cooling and motors, which in aggregate across the country can have a material impact on the shape of consumption, allowing renewable resources utilised to a greater extent.  This will consciously (albeit automatically) shift both demand and supply to a shape which better matches our daily lives and natural resource availability.
<h3>The future of energy demand</h3>
The role for renewable generation is growing, and the establishment of the enabling environment will throw the door wide open to a cleaner, more sustainable system, where we can all play our part.  Let’s start by being conscious of when we use energy, is it day or night, sunny or cloudy, windy or still?
If we get this right, we can reduce and sculpt demand to provide the flexibility in the system, allowing the majority of power to be generated from infinite resources, rather than the current system which depends on finite resources and environmentally damaging technologies to achieve the flexibility.  By better matching demand and supply we can reduce both the environmental and financial cost of electricity.
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The growth of renewables in the past ten years has been the success story of energy in the UK.

The shape of things to come

The excerpt below (taken from page 15 of the report) focuses on the ‘mezzanine finance’ model that bridges the funding gap for community energy projects, as well as a potential investment model for the heating sector.
We are mentioned further in Section 3. Further models for investment on page 32 of the report under &#8216;Abundance&#8217; detailing the regulated online platform that lets people lend money to projects providing a social and/or environmental good. Abundance facilitated our renewable<a title="933 everyday investors unite in Thrive’s movement for a cleaner, smarter energy system" href="/latest-news/press-releases/933-everyday-investors-unite-in-thrive-s-movement-for-a-cleaner-smarter-energy-system/" data-id="1837"> energy bond offer </a>through an Innovative Finance ISA to attract everyday investors and now funds £10M worth of renewable projects.
<h3>Section 1. The big picture: The barriers to renewables energy investment in Wales</h3>
An example of a specialist form of finance, as referenced above, is ‘mezzanine finance’ which is a mix of debt and equity financing that gives the lender the rights to convert to an ownership or equity interest in the company/project in case of default. Monika Paplaczyk, Thrive Renewables, noted how they, for example, have started providing mezzanine loans to renewables projects, including community energy projects, in order to compliment senior loans provided by banks, so they are effectively providing mezzanine funding to plug the funding gap. This form of finance has helped community groups gain quicker access to finance, as opposed to raising finance through a community share offer for example.
Paplaczyk used the example of heat investment noting that there is significant interest from investors to consider investment in the heating sector, including for example, investment in district heat networks. However, Paplaczyk felt that further certainty and clarity on the revenues and contractual arrangements would be required when funding heat projects and initially, a joint venture approach or the mezzanine finance route would be the ideal investment vehicle for financial investors. Wales needs to exploit specialist forms of finance, including mezzanine finance, in order to drive investment in renewable energy projects and ensure adaptability and diversity within the energy market.
The experts interviewed for this paper made it clear that it is hard to get investment at a planning and development stage but – although the cost of capital can be enormous – returns can be very attractive. The communication of risk and returns of renewable energy schemes are also key in overcoming the barriers to investment. Helene Winch, an Investment Advisor, used the example of Scotland where communication alongside political will and clear visibility of renewable energy schemes across Scotland has been key to driving further investment.
To download the IWA’s report, ‘Funding renewable energy projects in Wales’, please click <a href="http://www.iwa.wales/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/IWA_ReEnergisingWales-9.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

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The ‘Re-energising Wales’ project’s first report entitled ‘Funding renewable energy projects in Wales’, highlights opportunities that could lead to the development of more investment in renewable energy projects in Wales.

Re-energising Wales 'Funding renewable energy projects in Wales' report

With a 20-year history and trusted ethos, Thrive unites a growing movement of investors who are wanting to see investment with impact. The Bristol based, sustainable company has contributed to the construction of 95MW of renewable energy projects, across 19 sites around the UK with a total of £105M assets under management.

A portion of the £10M funds have already gone directly into three renewable energy projects including a three-turbine wind farm built on an old coal mine in Scotland. These new projects will power clean electricity to homes by Autumn 2017. Thrive has also invested in Solar PV for the first time this year broadening its scope of sustainable projects for investors.
Thrive’s unlisted renewable energy bond attracted a diverse range of everyday investors, high net worth individuals, foundations, and institutions with investments ranging from just £5 to over £1M.
The first part of the bond offer, for those investing between £5 and £90,000, completed in just 22 days and is Triodos Bank’s fastest capital raise to date.
The bond offer was made available online through leading sustainable investment platform, peer-to-peer lender, and FCA regulated, Abundance Investment Ltd. It attracted investors as young as 24 years and the oldest at 94 years, with over 50% of new investors coming via the Abundance online platform. 29% of all investors were women who had an average investment of £5,877.
30% of the capital raised was invested through the IFISA wrapper and new investors contributed nearly 42% of the total raise. New investors invested an average of £1,000 and were typically younger than traditional Thrive investors who invested an average of £5,000.

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Thrive Renewables Plc (Thrive) bond offer, promoted by ethical lender, Triodos Bank and available for the first time through an Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA) with Abundance, attracts over 900 everyday investors, from all walks of life, and funds £10M of renewable energy projects.

933 everyday investors unite in Thrive's movement for a cleaner, smarter energy system

Thrive Renewables provides an efficient and rewarding financial connection with sustainable energy, uniting shareholders and bondholders in direct investment in a cleaner, smarter energy system.
As an un-listed plc*, Thrive aims to benefit from this membership by reaching more likeminded investors, and to create a wider awareness around the opportunity to invest directly into sustainable energy via our share offers and secondary share market, essential to the company’s future growth.
Matthew Clayton, MD of Thrive joined the SSX Investor Conference on the 1st February and was part of a panel talking about action through impact investment. The video link with highlights from the event can be found <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUhF6eEVeTw">here</a>.
Thrive Renewables can also be found listed on <a href="http://www.ethex.org.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">http://www.ethex.org.uk/</a> – an online community helping investors to make positive investments simply and securely.
<h3>About the Social Stock Exchange</h3>
The Social Stock Exchange provides access to the world’s first regulated exchange dedicated to businesses and investors seeking to achieve a positive social and environmental impact through their activities. The aim of the exchange is to help these businesses connect with investors and unlock capital at scale.  All issuer member companies must meet a rigorous set of criteria before joining, including the publication of an Impact Report.
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*Thrive Renewables is not listed on a stock exchange such as London Stock Exchange (LSE) or the Alternative Investment Market (AIM)

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TIDE &amp; ISE 2018

The Social Stock Exchange (SSX) - the UK’s public market for impact investing has approved Thrive Renewables as a member following the approval of its impact report by the independent Admissions Panel.

We've joined the Social Stock Exchange

The site of this three-wind turbine project is a disused open cast coal mine to the north of Blackridge in West Lothian, Scotland. The 6MW project will generate enough renewable electricity to meet the annual demand of 5,458 UK homes.
Thrive’s goal is to allow individuals to contribute to cleaning up the UK’s energy system.  The clean energy transition is particularly evident at this site.
Thrive was established over 20 years ago and now unites a community of 6,300 investors and has invested over 100MW of renewable energy. We work with developers and communities to develop and build new sources of renewable energy to contribute to a cleaner smarter energy system fit for the future.
We also provide an opportunity for individuals to invest directly in a portfolio of renewable energy projects, delivering financial returns and contributing to tangible greenhouse gas emission reductions.
Visit the <a href="/projects/drumduff-wind-farm/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Drumduff project page</a> for information about the site.

The successful transition from coal to clean energy

Drumduff wind farm construction

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Onsite at Drumduff

This film captures the completion and transition from coal mine to wind power, a joint venture between Thrive Renewables (Thrive) and GreenPower featuring drone footage.

Video: Successful transition from coal to clean energy

This is achieved by owners carrying out their own self-guided energy audits and using local trades people where possible to reduce running costs, lower CO2 emissions, and increase the use of their premises, making them more accessible, comfortable and better utilised to groups relying on them.
<h3>Grants awarded in 2016</h3>
A total of eight grants were awarded in 2016 ranging in value from £800 to £4,000 (the grant maximum). A variety of buildings benefited from the grants including community centres, village halls, a cricket pavilion and a Baptist church/youth centre all based around Thrive sites across the country including Bristol, Lancashire, Cumbria, Fife and Suffolk.
The range of improvements installed, as a result of the grants, included loft insulation, double glazed windows, replacement external doors, energy efficient lighting, lighting sensors, pipe and hot water tank insulation, water saving devices like taps and instantaneous water heaters, floor insulation and replacement heating – all essential for helping to improve the comfort and warmth of buildings during cold months &#8211; often a time when these buildings are underutilised.
There were other zero cost energy saving measures adopted by some of the groups receiving funding, as well as some just calling for advice, including cleaning windows to let more light and heat in, and labelling switches and controls so users could switch off lights after use/or make best use of their heating. The improvements have benefitted organisations as diverse as toddler groups, ballroom dancing lessons, the Womens’ Institute, friendship clubs, youth sports teams and budding music makers.
Through this programme Thrive also hopes to educate and empower people locally to take the self-guided energy audit of the community building and then feeling confident to use the same approach at home or for friends. The impact in the community is then wider than the measures installed in the hall.
<h3>Energy savings made</h3>
The total amount awarded in the first year of the programme was £25,872 with a total annual savings calculated at 10.13 tonnes carbon dioxide saved by the scheme and 36,839 kWh.

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In November 2015, Thrive Renewables launched its Community Benefit Programme which has now run a full year.

Communities benefit from energy saving grants

The previous review of the DRSP took place in October 2016 when the valuation grew 3.5% from £2.27 to £2.35. We have recently reviewed the DRSP again as a result of the combination of the following events which were considered to have both positive and negative impacts on the value of Thrive Renewables.
<h3>Wind resource and weather impact</h3>
Independent experts have suggested that 2016 was 4.3% less windy at a national level than the long-term expectations with wind farms exporting up to 9% less energy as a result. In addition to lower wind speeds, we also had a challenging time at Caton Moor, our largest wind farm which is located east of Lancaster where floods which hit the North West of England in the winter of 2015/16 caused a lot of damage to the region’s electricity distribution networks. In addition to homes and businesses being without power, the contingency in the electricity network was impaired, so the system ran in a fragile state in early 2016 while repairs and upgrades were made. The impact for Thrive Renewables was that Caton Moor wind farm was switched off and unable to export to the grid for extended periods during January and February which were the windiest months of 2016. As our largest wind farm, usually generating 22% of our renewable electricity, this reduced the amount of power we generated.
Additionally, we expect to generate more than a third of our electricity in October, November and December. Despite the tail of storm Barbara arriving over Christmas, all three months were exceptionally less windy than is typical and, overall we have generated less power and consequently less revenue than we expected in 2016. Both the low wind resource and outage at Caton Moor have had a negative impact on the value of Thrive Renewables.
As a result of the windiness in 2016 we have revised our expectations of electricity export downwards for future years.
There are a number of factors, however, which have had a positive impact on the value of Thrive Renewables.
<h3>New investments</h3>
In January, we reached significant milestones on two new projects:
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<li>In collaboration with Scottish developer Green Power we have concluded all the procurement work at Drumduff wind farm. We have now commenced construction of this 6MW wind farm which is located on a disused coal mine in West Lothian, Scotland. Once built this project will generate the equivalent amount of electricity to meet the needs of 4,400* UK homes per annum.</li>
<li>We also contributed to the funding of a wind farm in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The wind farm is a two turbine site with a generating capacity of 4.6MW. Construction has commenced with first generation planned for summer 2017.</li>
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The construction of the two wind farms puts our investors’ money to work, contributing to new renewable energy generation capacity. Having raised £8.4m via the Thrive Renewables plc Bond issue, we have the funds to continue to grow our impact and revenues by investing in further renewable energy generation projects.
<h3>Wholesale electricity prices</h3>
Approximately 50% of Thrive Renewables income is derived from the sale of electricity via the wholesale electricity market. In the autumn of 2016 the UK’s wholesale electricity prices increased. Whilst there are many factors which led to this change in price, two elements had significant impact. The first was that following the Brexit referendum, Sterling (£) weakened against the Euro (€) and US dollar ($). As the majority of the UK’s energy is sourced from fossil fuels, and fossil fuels tend to be traded in € and $, the cost of these imported fuels increased and consequently UK electricity prices rose.
The second element impacting the wholesale electricity prices in the Autumn was that a number of the French nuclear power plants were offline due to unplanned or extended checks and maintenance. This pushed up European power prices as the French nuclear supply typically exports power to neighbouring countries (including the UK via the interconnectors), so the shortfall had an impact on prices. Fortunately, we were able to fix future prices on a number of our power sales agreements, which, weather permitting will allow revenues to be increased in the coming months.
<h3>Overall impact</h3>
With due consideration of these material impacts, the Directors find that the positive and negative factors have a neutral effect on the valuation of Thrive Renewables and the Directors’ Recommended Share Price is unchanged at £2.35.
Background on previous DRSP movements can be found on the Thrive website <a href="http://www.thriverenewables.co.uk/for-investors/buying-and-selling-shares/recommended-share-price/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">http://www.thriverenewables.co.uk/for-investors/buying-and-selling-shares/recommended-share-price/</a>
*BEIS average UK home electricity consumption 3.938MWh/Home

A review and round up of 2016 investments and performance with the Directors' recommended share price remaining unchanged at £2.35.

Share price review 30 January 2017

A senior debt facility of up to £11.4 million has been secured from Santander UK plc (“Santander UK”), with the balance of funding met equally between GreenPower and Thrive.
This will be the first project for either GreenPower or Thrive using GE turbines. The project will generate approximately 20,200 MWh per annum, equivalent to the yearly demand from 5,120 homes*.
* Based on an average UK domestic electricity consumption of 3,938kWh/annum (‘Energy Consumption in the UK’, November 2016, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy)

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Achieving this milestone triggers the commencement of the construction of the wind farm which will commence generation in summer 2017.

£11.4 million project financing for the Drumduff wind farm

Please note the share offer closed on 13 March 2017 and is no longer available. 
Funds raised by the new bond will be put to work straight away to build two new onshore windfarms in Scotland with a combined capacity of 11MW. Once built, these will be able to generate enough electricity for 8720 homes. In addition, funds will support a pipeline project generating solar power.
Thrive currently has a portfolio of 15 operational renewable energy sites, with a third of these in Scotland. Its 21 year track record in investing in projects that result in both financial and environmental benefit, that are small to medium scale, sensitively sited and provide sustainable power to the UK grid. Thrive provides shareholders an efficient and rewarding financial connection with sustainable energy and a role in building the new, smarter energy system.
This was the first unlisted bond to be eligible to be held in the new third ISA: the Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA). Over 50% of the investors in the Thrive bond chose to hold their bonds in an IFISA and will receive their interest tax free.
The speed of the raise shows the significant demand for commercially viable and sustainable investments. Investors could invest online for a minimum of just £5 making this investment widely accessible to everyday investors. A total of 938 people invested, with a third of those existing share or bond holders, meaning Thrive has grown its investor community by some 600 people.
The bond, issued by Thrive Renewables plc on an unsecured basis, will pay 5% gross interest per year with capital repaid in March 2024. Payment of interest and repayment of capital is not guaranteed and is dependent on the continued successful operation of the Thrive business model.
Thrive already generates enough clean electricity to meet the need of over 40,000 homes; the additional projects coming online as a result of this bond will boost that to a further 8,270 homes.
Thrive was advised by Triodos Bank. Its Corporate Finance Team Head Dan Hird said: “This is the fastest capital raise we have ever done. I think it captured people’s interest because of the strong brand and good track record of Thrive as a company, the impact it has as an organisation and the financial return &#8211; coupled with the ability to receive the interest tax free through the ISA.
The corporate finance team of Triodos Bank is acting as adviser to Thrive Renewables and promoter of the offer. Abundance Investment, the regulated peer to peer investment platform, is acting as registrar and facilitator for the bonds and is the IFISA manager.
Thrive Renewables targeted £7.5m for this raise but will issue up to £10m of bonds through this offer. The bond second offer is still open with a minimum subscription amount of £90,000 and a final closing date of 27 February 2017. For more information please contact Triodos Bank on <a href="mailto:investments@triodos.co.uk">investments@triodos.co.uk</a> or 0117 980 9593.

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Thrive Renewables plc (Thrive), one of the UK’s most widely owned independent renewable energy companies, has raised £7.7 million through a bond offer.

Thrive exceeds £7.5 million bond target

With a career in wind energy spanning more than two decades, Colin has seen his fair share of developments including the turbulent beginnings of the 80s Californian wind boom, the building of Europe’s biggest onshore windfarm in 1994, with 103 turbines on a hilltop just outside Newtown in Powys, and to present day, where he leads a multi-national team committed to being part of the solution that drives to take carbon and international politics out of our energy supply.
Colin, a keen cyclist, bypassed the traffic to our Thrive office to spend some time talking about his career, renewables, the importance of time with family, cycling and love of everything that Bristol has to offer.
<h3>Colin, tell us how you got into renewables and specifically wind energy</h3>
“My education went down the traditional engineering route. I’ve been interested in energy since the age of 15 and upon taking a geography O’Level my interest grew in clean energy. By the time I went to university the next step was a degree in Mechanical Engineering in London. Soon after leaving Uni, I happened upon a small start-up in wind energy called Garrad Hassan, and joined them. The move was intended to be temporary, partly to stay and experience London for another year as renewables back then was not considered to be a real career, most of my peers joining aerospace, automotive, accountancy or chemical companies. I ended up staying there 28 years!”
The company grew and ultimately merged into DNV GL, which operates worldwide as one of the leading engineering certification, safety and consultancy businesses. By 2015 Colin was a Senior VP there having held various roles including being globally responsible for the company’s offshore wind business and manager of the 400-strong business unit providing renewables consulting across Western Europe and Latin America. In July 2015 he left with five colleagues to found Everoze, still focused on the remit around clean energy, including wind and solar, but also storage and potentially wider power and energy system issues. Everoze has grown quickly to 25 staff in UK and France, advising investors, developers, operators and policy-makers in renewables and storage; by leveraging their extensive industry network and deep technical understanding.
“It’s nice to be doing engineering again and delivering projects. Our ethical drive is to take carbon out of our energy system, so we’re trying hard to maintain an enjoyable work environment, but we are still making a meaningful impact.” This motivation and ethos has made Colin a successful transformational leader.
<h3>What&#8217;s your experience of how the industry has changed over the years?</h3>
“Back when I started out in 1987, it wasn’t about carbon, people had an awareness of fossil fuels polluting, but climate change was not really on the agenda. It was about sustainability of supply. Wind energy was seen back then as a cottage industry. It began with a flurry of activity in California. Wind farms were manufactured in all sorts of shapes and sizes by a huge range of companies, most of which went bust, but a couple survived and are still here today. This drove a lot of wind energy to be installed, and a lot of painful lessons to be learnt. Some of my earliest work was in understanding those lessons and feeding it into the next phase of the industry which happened in Europe.
The plus point was an injection of interest in wind and investment to get the sector through its early growing pains. By the early 90’s UK, Denmark and Germany had developed a market which supported construction of new wind farms, and there was significant UK-based manufacture going on. However, the UK market waned in the mid 90’s as the Government ‘dash for gas’ policy dominated, which is a major reason why the dominant turbine suppliers today are from Germany and Denmark. It simply took too long to get a reliable market started in the UK. That happened in 2002/3 when the Renewables Obligation support mechanism started. From that point until 2015, the UK provided policy support which was as consistent as anywhere in the world hence why we’ve seen over a decade of massive growth in renewable power on our system at new-build prices which have now pretty much closed the gap on conventional generation options. If we look at the power capacity that is being installed now, renewables is a major player and in many parts of the world, including Europe, dominant.”
<h3>What&#8217;s your prediction for renewables in the energy system?</h3>
“The most exciting development in renewables is the cost coming down and it being a time where renewables are the rational economic choice against conventional generators without any kind of subsidy. Where competition has been introduced new renewable projects have been developed significantly more cheaply signalling that the time is right to move towards a competitive model, where renewables compete with each other and non-renewables. This is happening globally. In the UK we’re currently on the path to a generation mix which is heavily gas based and I’m confident that new onshore wind projects can be cost competitive with new <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combined_cycle">Combined Cycle Gas Turbines</a> (CCGTs). Large-scale solar PV in the south of the UK is not far behind and energy from offshore wind is also getting sharply cheaper.
CCGT is much cleaner than coal, but still generating carbon. We hear a lot about Carbon Capture and Storage, but that is some way from being commercial. Just as the main market mechanism for onshore wind and solar PV was stalled by the incoming 2015 UK Government, so there is no effective market mechanism at present to trigger new-build of CCGTs. Onshore wind projects being built now are happening because of legacy arrangements. In this context, the decision to go ahead and build Hinckley is an irrelevance (as well as being economically irrational). With old plants being retired from the system, near-term action is needed to keep the lights on from around 2020.
So, while we are in something of a policy vacuum, necessity dictates that the Government must bring forward policies in the next year or so to promote building of further new generation capacity. Provided that economic rationality and the interests of the electricity consumer figure significantly in those policies, they should result in a substantial and potentially dominant proportion of our new generators being renewable. Those renewable generators are most likely to be onshore wind projects in Scotland, because it’s more supportive in terms of planning, windier and has space for larger more cost-effective projects than in England and Wales.
But crucially, we are at the point where national policy to build renewables stops being a fluffy environmental decision that needs subsidy support – it is the low cost option for the consumer.
And what about when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine? My view of a future system is a move towards wind increasing onshore and offshore, with more solar in the South, increased electrical interconnection with Europe, a lot more storage plant distributed around the country and more flexible control of demand &#8211; having more active control of our consumption – identifying what power can be turned off safely and without the consumer even noticing.”
<h3>What will people think in the future when we look back at all this?</h3>
“Coming from a situation where as a nation we have used a few large remote power stations to power the grid for over 100 years, it has disconnected people entirely from where they get their electricity. Most people have no idea of how our electricity system works. Go back a few generations, what were the first things people did in the morning – find water, find fuel, find food – how many people today think about how to get their fuel? We’ve had to make no compromises in our lives to make that happen other than paying the bills. In the future if we want clean cost-effective power, we have to accept the compromise that the source of that power is not invisible. So in the future I’d like to think that renewable energy will be as widely accepted in our environment as the entirely man-made agricultural landscape is today. It is essential that renewables win that social acceptance, which will be by being good neighbours, by education and by people having ownership. That ownership may be real, as Thrive offers, or it may be the kind that people feel towards familiar features – like the Victorian mill you always passed by on the way to school.
People will also wonder why we were so profligate in how we used energy, so improving efficiency is non-negotiable and the stakes are increasing. We’ve got a future in which it is likely transport and heat will be electrified. We’re already at 25% of electricity being generated from renewables in UK, which is great, but as we electrify the wider energy system in the long-term our electricity demand can only go up. That’s why there is such a pressing need to sort out electricity generation – to break the link between electricity and carbon dioxide production and to do so without increasing the cost to the consumer.
So we know where we need to get to and it’s about getting there as fast as we can. We’ll need technology development, cost reduction and social acceptance, but there’s every reason to be optimistic.”
<h3> About Colin Morgan</h3>
<ul>
<li>Chartered Mechanical Engineer with over 29 years in the wind energy industry,</li>
<li>Non-Executive Director of Thrive Renewables PLC since 2013, sitting on the Operations Health &amp; Safety Sub-Committee</li>
<li>Senior VP / Regional Manager for DNV GL (Western Europe &amp; Latin America ), 2013-2015, one of the largest, most respected, renewable advisory teams in the world;</li>
<li>Global Head of Offshore Wind for the GL Group 2011-2013;</li>
<li>Chaired Renewable UK Onshore Wind Cost Reduction Task-force 2014/15.</li>
</ul>
Founder of <a href="http://everoze.com/">Everoze</a> (2015) &#8211; a business committed to being part of the solution as they drive to take carbon and international politics out of our energy supply. Client-focused technical experts across the renewable energy sector.

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Introducing Colin Morgan, founder of Everoze, wind-energy pioneer and Thrive board member.

Team profile: Wind energy pioneer, Colin Morgan

Following our investment in Gevens wind farm in December 2015, the 6.9 MW project in Fife, Scotland has now begun delivering renewable electricity.  The procurement of a further wind farm in Scotland is also progressing well.
We hope that you like the new format of the half year report.  In response to your feedback we have introduced an easier to read layout for the report and on our website. The report also includes recent feedback from our shareholders and the local community who attended our successful wind farm open day at Ransonmoor Farm in Cambridgeshire.

We are pleased to present the 2016 Half Year Report with an update on the Company’s operational and financial performance to 30 June 2016.

2016 half year report

According to the report, UK greenhouse gas emissions have fallen 46 per cent from 1990 levels, but we still have a long way to go – especially after former prime minister Boris Johnson’s COP26 commitment to reduce emissions by 68 per cent by 2030. The CCC has stated that, to hit that target, the current rate of annual emissions reductions (outside of the electricity supply sector) would need to quadruple.  
<h3>What else did the report say? </h3>
The CCC includes various recommendations for how the government could get back on track with net zero. In addition to taking the necessary action to regain its green leadership, it included the need to make important changes to planning policy. It says: “Planning policy needs radical reform to support Net Zero. The planning system must have an overarching requirement that all planning decisions must be taken giving full regard to the imperative of Net Zero.” 
To us, this should include significant planning reform for proven technologies that are cheap, clean and we know will deliver – like onshore wind. <a href="https://twitter.com/DrSimEvans/status/1675853160999448578" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Recent analysis from Carbon Brief</a> found that the UK’s net gas imports would have been 8% lower in Q1 2023 if onshore wind farms had been built at previous rates, instead of grinding to a halt.
<h3>What&#8217;s going on with onshore wind?  </h3>
In 2015, the government made significant changes to onshore wind planning policy in England, making it almost impossible to build new wind farms and resulting in just a small handful of projects being commissioned in the years that followed. For example, the Ambition Community Energy turbine in Bristol (which Thrive funded the construction of) is the only onshore wind project built so far in England in 2023. In fact, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/may/28/ukraine-built-more-onshore-wind-turbines-last-year-than-england" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ukraine has built more onshore wind turbine</a><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/may/28/ukraine-built-more-onshore-wind-turbines-last-year-than-england" target="_blank" rel="noopener">s</a> in the past year than England has.  
With energy prices skyrocketing over the past 18 months, the issues surrounding onshore wind planning policy have been brought to the forefront, with MPs and the industry recognising the role it could have in reducing bills and accelerating the transition. Following various campaigns, the government launched a technical consultation on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework in December 2022, closing in March 2023. While we were hoping for clarification as part of the government’s “green day” announcements, it instead announced that it would be consulting on how to improve community engagement in relation to building new onshore wind sites.  
We have now formally responded to the consultation and expressed our concerns that changing policy pertaining to community engagement will have minimal impact without a change to the current planning rules in England. We have therefore urged the government in both consultations to remove footnote 54 of the National Planning Policy Framework so onshore wind is treated the same as other infrastructure projects in planning decisions. 
The consultation was based on the premise that developers should have to proactively demonstrate local support – but according to the government’s own figures, only 12% oppose a wind farm in their community. Defining in policy what local support is will be challenging, expensive, subjective and, based on polling, unnecessary. What we need to see is a level playing field in planning policy where onshore wind is treated exactly the same as other local developments like retail, housing or industrial premises.  
<h3>How are we moving forwards? </h3>
We already have the technology we need to decarbonise electricity generation – it’s just about making the most of it. <a href="https://www.businessgreen.com/news-analysis/4119769/national-grid-eso-action-uk-track-net-zero-2046" target="_blank" rel="noopener">According to National Grid ESO’s recent Future Energy Scenarios assessment</a>, the UK could achieve net zero by 2050, or even 2046, if fresh policy measures are adopted to accelerate the roll out of these technologies.  
Although a wakeup call for the government, the CCC’s report also makes it clear that the UK can regain its climate leadership if the right action is taken. This includes continued investment into clean technologies, which is currently reaching record levels. A <a href="https://about.bnef.com/blog/global-low-carbon-energy-technology-investment-surges-past-1-trillion-for-the-first-time/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report from BloombergNEF</a> found that global investment in the energy transition totalled $1.1 trillion in 2022 – a huge increase on the year before – and renewables received a new record of $495 billion in investment, up 17% on 2021. 
We’re proud to have funded the construction of England’s only new onshore wind turbine in 2023 so far, and we’re investing in other critical technologies like solar, battery storage and renewable heat. This will not only support the UK’s transition to net zero but ensure people can enjoy the benefits of clean energy – including cheaper bills – in the years to come.

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Following a recent report from the Climate Change Committee, we give our thoughts on the state of the energy transition in the UK, including the government’s consultation into ‘community engagement’ around onshore wind.

The UK has lost its net zero leadership - So why are we still stalling on proven technologies like onshore wind?

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Now aptly named the ‘UK Green Business Awards’, several new categories have been introduced to celebrate the changing face of British business. Hosted in the Leonardo Royal Hotel in St Paul’s, London, opening speeches from BusinessGreen editor-in-chief, James Murray, and Shadow Climate Change and Net Zero Secretary, Ed Miliband, were followed by announcement of the winners and highly commended businesses… 
And we’re extremely proud to confirm that we won – and against some very tough competition! Also shortlisted in our category were Coutts, EQ Investors, Foresight Group, Gresham House BSIF strategy, Tribe Impact Capital, Triodos Investment Management, WHEB Asset Management and Church Commissioners for England. Big congratulations to these brilliant businesses for all their work building a fairer and more sustainable future for the generations to come, and to BusinessGreen for an inspirational evening!
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For more information on the awards and the lucky winners on the night, read <a href="https://www.businessgreen.com/news/4119130/uk-green-business-awards-winners-announced">BusinessGreen’s article here.</a>  
 
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.thriverenewables.co.uk/media/3012/untitled-design-2023-07-12t135231137.jpg?width=557&amp;height=656" alt="" width="557" height="656" data-udi="umb://media/0a4e4b7efc75485a96ddc66f8c6aeee3" />

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MP Green Business Awards

We joined over 400 people in London to celebrate progress within the green economy.

Taking home the gold at the inaugural UK Green Business Awards

Topics covered will include fuel poverty awareness and basic energy advice, community approaches to tackling fuel poverty and energy efficiency in community buildings. 
This will be offered alongside energy efficiency grants of up to £4,500 so that important shared buildings, including village halls, community centres and church halls, can make improvements such as insulation, draught-proofing, LED lighting or improved heating controls ahead of winter.  
Launched today, applicants will be asked to complete a full energy survey of the shared building using guidance supplied by the charity. This will help to identify potential improvements, including zero-cost measures, and calculate carbon and cost savings for different options. Applications will remain open until 21st September 2023.

Now in the seventh round of funding, our Community Benefit Programme has awarded 51 grants to 43 buildings since 2016, totalling over £150,000 nationally and saving 75 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year. 
In 2022, this included funding for Easton Community Centre, part of the Eastside Community Trust, which was used to install loft and pipe installation that would help reduce the building’s energy bills and allow its team to continue providing community advice and acting as a base for a number of local charities and grassroot groups. Read more in our <a href="/latest-news/blog/we-like-to-call-it-the-neighbourhood-s-living-room-shining-a-light-on-our-community-benefit-programme-with-easton-community-centre/">case study here</a>.

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