The Project model
The diagram below shows how the community investment model works.
- Community members join and become a shareholder in Moreland Community Solar Co-operative, a non-profit entity.
- The Co-op enters into an agreement with a local building owner who agrees to host the rooftop solar panels and pay a set price for the electricity produced.
- The Co-op buys, installs and owns the solar panels on the building roof for an agreed period.
- The electricity generated by the solar panels is sold by the Co-op to the rooftop host who uses it for its operations on-site.
- The Co-op passes on revenue from the sale of electricity back to its community shareholders on a not-for-profit basis.
- The builder owner keeps the solar panels at the end of the agreed period (nominally 5 to 7 years).