Mapledurham Estates Park Farm Dairy “Mooves” Closer Towards Sustainable Production

Sept. 8, 2015 - PRLog -- The scheme offers local people the opportunity to invest in, and benefit from, the generation of clean energy on the Mapledurham Estate, 4 miles north-west of Reading. Where this scheme differs from others is that it will be owned by people, prioritising those in and around the counties of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, who will be offered the chance to buy shares in Mapledurham Community Energy. Community sustainable development projects as far afield as Thatcham, Reading, Henley, Wallingford, Wokingham and villages within a 12 mile radius are set to benefit from reinvested profits.

Mapledurham Community Energy are now inviting local people to invest in its newly launched community share offer, which aims to raise £2.2 million to build the Mapledurham Community Energy Anaerobic Digester and Central Heat and Power facility. A series of public meetings are taking place in Wallingford, Reading, Henley and Thatcham over the coming weeks.

Renewable Energy is a huge opportunity for local people. For those of us wanting to ‘do the right thing’ and contribute to a more sustainable planet for our children and grandchildren, we can support local ownership of this project. So for those of us with some savings for which we wish to find an ethical and high yielding investment (7%), we can take the opportunity to become one of the community owners[1] (http://mapledurham-energy.org/news-and-updates/#_ftn1).

Chris Crookall-Fallon of Mongoose Energy, said: “Community-owned renewable energy is one way people in local communities can own the assets and invest in their grandchildren’s future.”

Robert Wytchard, the estate manager said “Dairy farmers are not in an easy business these days and the Estate has a contract with Marks and Spencer. Every year the Estate has to complete an audit for M&S showing that they are reducing their CO2 emissions in line with M&S’s Plan A for sustainability. This project allows the Estate to achieve this and it helps secure the dairy industry on the Estate.”

Mapledurham Community Energy (MCE) will be constructed at the Mapledurham Estate four miles North West of Reading. It will comprise an Anaerobic Digester and a Central Heat and Power facility. It will generate renewable energy from cattle waste (slurry) and maize silage, all from the Estate, reducing the carbon footprint of our community and reducing the need for fossil-fuel powered electricity. The other product that comes from a digester will be “digestate” which is a high quality fertilizer that can be used on the Estate and elsewhere rather than bringing imported fertilizers in.

Mark Ingersent the herd manager said “Currently the Estate has a large bill for fertiliser. The AD plant will produce dried organic matter (digestate), which will be going back into ground. This completes an ‘energy’ cycle”.

Surplus profits will be reinvested back into the community through an independent Community Fund, which will make grants to local projects focusing on environmental sustainability, low or zero use of energy and or alleviating fuel poverty. Communities from a 12-mile radius can apply for funding. Nicola Swan, local community development specialist said “this fund will provide much needed money for many projects in communities as far afield as Thatcham, Reading, Henley, Wallingford, Wokingham and a huge number of villages in between.” Mapledurham Community Energy is expected to provide approximately £942,000 to the fund over its 20-year lifetime.

Planning permission has been secured for the anaerobic digester, which will generate about 3707 MWh per year of clean electricity which will go to the grid. It is planned to be fully operational by March 31, 2016.

Shares in the community benefit organsation are being offered through Ethex, Community Energy Fundraiser winners at Community Energy Awards 2015.

Minimum investment is £500 and the offer closes on October 4^th or earlier if fully subscribed.

Notes to editors

Further information on the share offer to community members will be available at these public meetings:

September 15, 2015, 19.30, Wallingford Town Hall, Wallingford, OX10 0EG
September 16, 2015, 18.00, Students Union Building, Reading University, Reading, RG6 6UR
September 28, 2015, 18.00, IoD Conference Rom, Henley Business School, Henley, RG9 3AU
September 29, 2015, 19.30, Frank Hutchings Community Hall, Thatcham, RG18 4QH

Follow us @mapledurhamCE
For more information contact:  Nicola Swan, Community facilitator, Nicola.swan@btinternet.com or 01491 871759
Peter Andrews, Mongoose Energy, 07817 967 837 or 01225 484472

About the Mapledurham Community Share Offer
The project consists of an Anaerobic Digester and Central Heat and Power facility at Park Farm on the Mapledurham Estate, 4 miles North West of Reading. The final installed capacity will be 0.5 MW.
The Share Offer aims to raise £2.1 million.
Withdrawable shares are valued at £1 each with a minimum investment of £500 and a maximum of £100,000.
The scheme has applied for EIS (Enterprise investment Scheme) tax relief. Qualifying income tax payers will therefore be able to claim tax relief of 30% of their investment if the application is successful.

About Mapledurham Community Energy
Mapledurham Community Energy Limited: MCE Ltd is a Community Benefit Society (“BenCom”) registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (number 7168). It is owned by its Members, who are protected by limited liability status, and managed for the benefit of the community. Its constitution is in the form of Rules approved by and registered with the FCA. Key characteristics of MCE Ltd are: a Member must have the minimum number of shares (500) each with a nominal value of £1; all MCE Ltd Members have one vote regardless of how many Shares they hold; no individual Member may hold more than the statutory limit of 100,000 Shares; the Board is elected by the Members; and only Members are eligible to serve on the Board.

[1] (http://mapledurham-energy.org/news-and-updates/#_ftnref1) This document is a plain English introduction to the MCE share offer. Anyone interested should read the full share offer document and investment risks.