Renewables firm launches new share offer as part of plan to double generation capacity
Thrive Renewables has launched a new share offer to support its aim to double the amount of renewable energy generation capacity in its portfolio over the next five years.
Equity raised through the crowdfunding offer will be used to build new onshore wind, solar, geothermal and battery storage projects. The Bristol-based company aims to help to transform the UK’s electricity system, reducing its reliance on imported fossil fuels and ultimately reducing household bills.
Thrive Renewables’ pipeline includes several large-scale solar PV and battery storage projects through its £20m investment in infrastructure company Ethical Power. Thrive has also recently invested £4m in community energy group, ATTIX CIC, to build Scotland’s first subsidy free, 100% community-owned onshore wind turbine just outside Kilbirnie, North Ayrshire. These new deals will complement an existing portfolio of 22 operational projects which generated £5.9m of operating profits and delivered the equivalent of 28,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions reductions in the first half of 2023.
Other recent development projects include providing £4m funding to construct England’s largest onshore wind turbine, which is wholly community-owned, and a 20 MW battery in its home city of Bristol, plus a total of £6m investment in United Downs – the UK’s first deep geothermal electricity generation plant in Cornwall, which also has the potential for the extraction of lithium for battery manufacture.
This share offer is promoted by Triodos Bank UK, through its crowdfunding platform and aims to raise the first £2m for Thrive Renewables as part of a wider fundraising campaign to raise £10m in the next six months and a total of £50m by 2028. It builds on a successful £6.8m crowdfunding raise in 2022.
Matthew Clayton, managing director of Thrive Renewables, said: “Getting to Net Zero is a huge economic and social opportunity for the UK to create a cleaner, fairer, more resilient energy system, but we have to take urgent action now. In the context of climate emergency and the planet heating at an alarming rate, many people will find the current uncertainty and prevarication in the UK immensely frustrating. With the support of over 7,000 investors, we fund and build new wind, solar, geothermal and storage projects to help reduce carbon emissions and benefit local people. We’re building on a track record of almost 30 years with ambitious plans to double our generation capacity over the next five years.”
Whitni Thomas, head of corporate finance at Triodos Bank UK, added: “With COP28 approaching many of us are looking for ways to take action. Personal investment choices are a powerful opportunity to use our money as a vote for change. Thrive Renewables provides shareholders with a really clear investment proposition, enabling them to have a direct impact on the UK’s energy transition. They have been a pioneer in renewable energy in the UK and continue to push the sector forwards backing a wide range of technologies.”
Thrive Renewables posted an operating profit of £5.9m and a turnover of £12.3m for the first half of 2023.
