Work With Us: Shared Ownership Projects

Shared Ownership is when a community owns a partial share of a renewable energy development. The Local Power Plan encourages community and locally owned renewable energy projects to make up a significant part of our national energy mix. Shared Ownership is an important way to achieve this. 

Energy4All has successfully delivered shared ownership co-operatives with communities across the UK, connected to several major renewable energy projects including wind farms, and hydropower projects.  Our model also works well with solar farms.

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An aerial image of the Millennium Wind farm, which Great Glen Co-op has a shared ownership stake in
The Millennium Wind Farm near Fort Augustus - Great Glen Energy Co-op purchased a stake in the site in 2008

There are several models of shared ownership, including split ownership, revenue sharing, and joint venture arrangements. The model selected will depend on the priorities of the stakeholders involved, the circumstances surrounding the development, and which approach is financially viable in the prevailing market conditions.

The following examples demonstrate how projects supported by Energy4All have successfully delivered long-term benefits to their communities and stakeholders:

Co-operative Revenue Share

Under this model of shared ownership, the co-operative is granted an annual share of revenue from the developer or landowner's project in exchange for an upfront capital payment. The return will depend on the performance of the renewable generator. 

The community owns a stake in the project, they don't own specific assets. This means the community shares operational risk across the whole site. An advantage of this model is less risk to the community; however the benefits are largely financial. With no direct ownership of the asset, there is less opportunity for the community to benefit in the business, such as selling the power themselves.

Energy4All has successfully launched 7 wind co-operatives across Scotland that own stakes in wind farms developed by Falck Renewables (later Renantis and now Nadara).

Explore Energy4All Wind Co-ops

Co-operative Joint Venture

Another model of shared ownership of renewables is a Joint Venture. This is an arrangement where two organisations (one being your co-op) agree to pool their resources, with the goal to share ownership of the project company. 

It differs from co-operative revenue share because the community has a more direct ownership stake in the project, with more claim of the assets.  However ownership is still restrictive if the community is a minority shareholder in a large project. These projects could be smaller than the shared revenue projects in terms of total megawatts, but the community's stake in the project may be much bigger.

Energy4All has supported the development of Highland Community Energy Society - this co-op has a stake in 6 hydropower sites across the Scottish Highlands, 5 of which were developed with a commercial partner.

Explore Energy4All Hydropower co-ops

Get in Touch about Shared Ownership

If you are a landowner or a developer looking to include the community in your next renewable energy project, or if you know of a nearby project that may be open to incorporating shared ownership, please get in touch with a member of our team.

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