Sittingbourne’s first community-owned rooftop solar array opened

Sittingbourne’s first community-owned roof-top solar array was opened today at The COOK Classics Kitchen. The ribbon was cut by Carey Philpott of SATEDA, the local domestic abuse charity, in the presence of local councillors, community investors and representatives of local green groups.

The 158kW array will supply COOK with renewable energy for the next eighteen years, with the profits donated to local charities.

It is owned by Orchard Community Energy, the local non-profit energy generator for Swale and Medway, and is its second community-owned solar project. Its ground-mounted array near Iwade has been generating since 2016, and SATEDA is one of the charities which has already received grants from the profits.

The event also marked the launch of Orchard Community Energy's 2021 share offer to enable more local people to invest in its community-owned renewable energy.

Penny Shepherd MBE, Chair, Orchard Community Energy said:

“Our new array is funded by small interest-bearing investments by concerned individuals locally and across the UK. It is a great way for people to tackle the climate emergency as well as benefiting local social and environmental causes. We hope that many more local people will join us through our new share offer.”

Edward Perry, Chief Executive, COOK said:

“As a business with Purpose and Community at its heart, we are proud to be working with Orchard on this project. It joins all the dots by doing something real and tangible to help the community and proving that business can be a force for good.”

Carey Philpott, Head of Communities and Business Development, SATEDA said:

“Our grants from Orchard Community Energy have enabled us to support victims of domestic abuse in Swale and Medway. It is wonderful that this array will enable similar grants to be made locally for many years.”