Member Article

Twemlows investment ‘good for business’ says Shrewsbury agency

A thriving Shropshire business today urged companies to follow its lead and invest in shares in a county solar farm.

Shrewsbury-based sustainable digital marketing agency GrowRoom says investing in the Twemlows solar farm near Whitchurch means it is delivering on its mission to support environmental projects which are doing good for the local community.

GrowRoom co-founder Sam Jacobs called on other businesses to also throw their weight behind the share offer to show their commitment to sustainability and good causes across the county.

Community Benefit Society Shropshire and Telford Community Energy STCE has already raised more than £234,000 after launching its share offer in Twemlows, a 10MW solar farm which can power the equivalent of 3,400 homes, two months ago.

STCE says the offer could raise as much as £4.5million in community benefit over the next 18 years and give a targeted return of six per cent to investors whilst saving more than 4,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year.

Sam said investing in Twemlows made strong business sense for GrowRoom, a results-driven digital marketing agency launched last year to help responsible brands to grow online.

“As a sustainably-focussed digital agency, GrowRoom are eager to support environmental projects that are doing good for the local community. We already support sustainable projects worldwide, including donating at least 3% of revenue to environmental projects such as the Eden Reforestation Project, but we feel it’s our social responsibility to support local projects too.

“Although there is a potential for financial return, that’s not the main purpose of our investment, but more of an added bonus. The main purpose of our investment is to benefit the local community, and further support sustainability projects.

“I think this offer should be of interest to all businesses across Shropshire. Investing in STCE’s community-owned solar farm will help them build positive relationships with the local community, while also reflecting a strong commitment to social and environmental responsibility.”

Dave Green, from STCE, said he was delighted to welcome GrowRoom as an investor.

“The share offer has met with an enthusiastic response from our local business community for exactly the reasons Sam has outlined.

“It represents an excellent opportunity for businesses to help the environment, make a real contribution to fighting climate change, generate funding for a wide range of community projects and also offers a fair target return for their investment.”

STCE is one of five community energy groups from across England and Wales to have joined forces under the Community Energy Together banner to launch share offers for a total of seven operational solar farms in the first scheme of its kind in the UK.

Overall, the Community Energy Together programme will save a combined 317,000 tonnes of CO2 over the lifetimes of the solar farms, which have a collective capacity of 36MW – enough to power the equivalent of 12,750 homes.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Melanie Boulter .