Want to own a piece of the sun? Hammersmith & Fulham residents now have the chance to invest in the borough's first community solar scheme.
More than 270 solar panels were installed on the roof of Jack Tizard School in South Africa Road, White City, last summer. They've helped the school save around £3,000 annually on energy bills.
Now, residents and businesses can help fund the installation from just £50 and earn a target 3% annual return over 15 years.
The offer is open until Monday 1 September and allows local investors to earn money while helping generate clean electricity to power over a third of the building's needs.
"We were really excited that not only could we save some money on our energy bills which we could then spend on our children, but also that it would support people in the local community," said Francesca Smith, headteacher at Jack Tizard school.
Over its lifetime, the project will save 446 tonnes of carbon emissions – equivalent to the annual electricity usage of approximately 740 average UK homes.
How the investment works
H&F residents can invest from £50; non-residents from £100.
Investors receive annual interest payments plus a portion of their capital returned each year, with the full amount repaid by the end of the 15-year project.
Invest via the H&F Community Energy website
The scheme will also generate an estimated £10,500 for a Community Fund to support local initiatives. All investors get an equal vote on how the project runs and how this funding is distributed.
Investors can choose to donate their annual interest to the Community Fund. H&F residents who prefer not to invest can join H&F Community Energy for £1 to gain voting rights but without earning interest.
Take a glimpse at the solar panels on YouTube:
Why clean energy matters for H&F
Buildings account for more than 80% of carbon emissions in H&F. Cllr Wesley Harcourt, H&F Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Ecology said:
Heating and powering our homes in more sustainable ways is the biggest opportunity we have to cut bills long-term and reduce our dependence on expensive fossil fuels.
We want to help all H&F residents – whether you rent or own your home – access cleaner, more affordable energy solutions as part of our work to make H&F stronger, safer and kinder."
In 2024, we installed energy efficiency measures in more than 1,500 social homes, launched our H&F Healthy Homes service to help residents cut energy costs with renter-friendly measures, and delivered retrofit plans to 166 homes. We now have 312 social homes heated by cleaner heat pumps and are building one of west London's largest heat pump systems at our Civic Campus.
Note:
All investments carry risk. More details here: https://www.repowering.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/HnF-Share-Offer-5_Release_LR.pdf
