An Oxford-based community group has been flooded with £420,000 in cash payments just ten days after offering shares in a planned hydroelectricity project to the public.
Osney Lock Hydro (OLH) had planned to build a small hydroelectric plant on Osney Island in the River Thames with a loan from the Environment Agency. Thanks to an overwhelming public response, however, the project organisers no longer believe this will be necessary.
Saskya Huggins, a volunteer for OLH, said, “The response has been phenomenal – and we have been particularly thrilled by the support
shown locally. Seventy five per cent of the investment to date has come from within the city of Oxford, and half of all investment is from people living within a mile of the site.”
Quentin Sattentau, an Osney Island resident who has invested in the scheme, said that the project “sends out a wonderful message about sustainable living in the 21st century.”
With funding now secure, OLH now expects that construction will begin this summer. The plant has been in the planning stages for over twelve years and is expected to generate 165,500kWh of electricity – enough to power fifty local homes. Investors were given the option of putting in between £500 to £20,000 over twenty years. OLH believe that the fund will generate a total of £2m in returns over the next forty years.
Stephen Naylor, a spokesman for the Environment Agency, said in a press release, “This community has worked very hard on the scheme and other low carbon projects in the area. It is a great opportunity to generate renewable energy from the River Thames and put something back into the community. We were very pleased to be able to support this venture and we wish OLH every success.”
Plans are now being drawn up for a further fifteen hydroelectricity projects along the River Thames in Oxfordshire, with potential sites for future renovation identified at Benson, Culham, Sandford and Godstow. Abingdon
Hydro, a non-profit organisation, hope to start a similar project by Abingdon Lock next year.
OLH has been supported in its efforts by the Low Carbon Hub, an environmental organisation which helps community groups across Oxfordshire, including groups within the University of Oxford.
One second-year Hertford student commented, “Micro-funded projects like these are great, and will only continue to grow in the future as communities look beyond businesses and the government to improve their local area.” When asked whether he would consider investing, he added, “I don’t think many students have that kind of money lying around.”
