Background
Solar 21 is a renewable energy investment company headquartered in Dublin, Ireland with locations in the UK and Italy. It specialises in the acquisition and management of solar photovoltaic (PV) installations and in the development of biomass and biogas projects in the UK and Europe.
The target fund size of Solar 21 is €1bn equal to an installed capacity of
approximately 250MW of renewable energy assets . This green energy
production will avoid the emissions of millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide,
equaling the photosynthesizing effect of over 38,000,000 trees!
Your funds are combined with bank lending to purchase photovoltaic solar farms to provide renewable energy to the national grid for a Feed-in-tariff guaranteed by the EU and national governments. The returns from the sales to the national grid are re-distributed to your investment via a fixed 7.5% annual coupon paid annually in arrears.
The coupon is paid via an annual distribution of 7.5% of your Solar 21 investment fund to your pension fund bank account or nominated account for non-pension investors. The distribution is calculated as simple interest based on your initial investment amount.
Annual distributions to non-pension investors are structured as a
loan and share agreement and as such will not be subject to tax for 10
years(for residents of the RoI) thereafter returns are subject to Capital
Gains Tax and/or income tax. Pension investors are exempt from tax on
returns (other than the current pensions levy of 0.15% charged by the State,
which is due to expire in 2015).
The investment is available up to a maximum of 20 years. It is possible to exit the investment after 5 years subject to 6 months written notice and there being sufficient reserve funds to facilitate this. Early exits, if allowed, may be subject to a penalty of up to 50% of the investment amount.
No. Individual investor funds are pooled and diversified across the portfolio of Solar farms. The 7.5% coupon is independent of the production of individual farms.
For non-pension investors, in the event of the death of a sole investor before
the Maturity Date, the investment will continue to the Maturity Date in the
name of the executor or administrator according to the usual probate rules.
Early exits may be possible but are at the discretion of the Fund Manager.
In the event of death of a pension investor, the shares will be offered to
existing or new investors so that the investment may be liquidated and death
or retirement benefits can be paid. Alternatively, the estate of the deceased
may be able to continue to draw an income from the investment. In the event
of early retirement the investment structure may be converted to an A(M)RF
and distributions may be drawn as income.
Insofar as climate change is predictable, it is expected that the South of Italy may be subject to longer hotter periods of drought. The negative effect on solar farms in this case would be due to higher average temperatures but there would be no reduction in direct sunlight.
It is clear that greater cloud cover would result in a reduction in output and a
corresponding reduction in sales. However, while notable variances can occur
in certain months compared with previous years, overall the average annual
sunlight hitting Italy remains consistent. The irradiation assumptions for the
financial model for each plant are based on several independent yield analyses
that compare data over many decades from which a conservative average
figure is used. In fact all of the solar parks
within the Solar 21 portfolio have experienced output and hence returns
greatly in excess of the anticipated levels.
All solar farms are fully insured with an “all risk” policy that also covers
loss of production up to 12 months. Other risks such as earthquakes,
floods and storms are also covered for 100% loss. All plants have
extensive microwave security alarm systems, including 24 hour CCTV,
infra red monitoring at night, remote monitoring and response to alarms
by local police.
It takes approximately 3 months from start of construction to grid connection.
Yes. It is possible to switch from being an investor to a retiree during the investment term. If this option is selected the 7.5% annual coupon instead of being investment return can now be taken as annual income subject to the rules of the relevant pension structure.
Italy has defined its commitment to the development of the PV industry
through five Governmental decrees. The first four emanated in July 2005,
February 2006 , July 2010, and May 2011 have defined the criteria for
promoting the production of electricity from Photovoltaics and set out
attractive Feed-in Tariffs and incentives which galvanised the Italian PV
market. A new edition of the decree, Conto Energia 5, was published in
August 2012 which provides guarantees on the Italian Feed-in-tariffs..
These are valid for 20 years from the date of grid connection e.g. a solar
farm connected in 2011 will have a guaranteed Feed-in Tariff until 2031
where as a solar farm connected in 2013 will have a guaranteed Feed-in
Tariff until 2033.
Despite this, a change in Italian Government precipitated an unprecedented change in policy which saw a cut to FIT’s implemented in November 2014. Solar 21 has implemented a number of measures to operations and financing to mitigate the effect of this change and maintain returns to investors. Solar 21 is now well positioned to take advantage of the re-adjusted Solar PV market in Italy.
The Kyoto Protocol is a legally binding agreement adopted by 37 industrialised countries in 1997 as part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The UNFCCC is an international treaty intended to bring countries together to reduce global warming after 150 years of industrialisation. In December 2011 the EU agreed to a second phase of the Protocol at the UN Climate Change Conference held in Durban, thus extending the binding legal commitments going forward. The Doha Global Climate Summit in December 2012 has led to an 8 year extension of the Kyoto Protocol which commits countries to reduce their carbon emissions by 2020.
A Feed-in Tariff (Feed-law, advanced renewable tariff or renewable energy
payments) is a policy mechanism designed to encourage the adoption of
renewable energy sources and to help accelerate the move toward grid parity.
Feed-in Tariffs have been adopted in over 59 countries world wide and are
cited as the primary reason for the huge success of the German, French and
Italian renewable energy markets. FITs pay renewable energy producers a set
rate for each unit of electricity sold and oblige power companies to purchase
all electricity from all producers in their service area for a long period of time
generally 20 years. FITs were prompted by the global warming crisis as well
as the emerging global energy demand pressure.
Unlike other mechanisms, such as tax credits or research and development
subsidies, Feed-in Tariffs cost governments nothing, being usually funded
through costs spread via a levy on all electric utility customers, as part of their
regular bill.
Experience in Germany shows that the Feed-in Tariff was instrumental in
increasing the power generated by renewable energy resources from 6.3%
in 2000 to more than 15% in 2008 – an increase of more than 200% in eight
years. This trend is set to continue worldwide due to the increasing global
demand for electricity as well as the recent move away from nuclear power
and fossil fuels.
Feed-in Tariffs have been entirely immune from recent European ‘bailouts’
and continue to function entirely as designed, ensuring the stable, continued
funding of renewable projects throughout the EU.
Feed-in Tariffs are not subsidies. They do not subsidize the cost of the equipment used to produce renewably-generated electricity, like solar panels or wind turbines. Instead, Feed-in Tariffs are simply payment for the generation of electricity. The extra cost for the Feed-in Tariffs is shared among all energy users in the country, thereby spreading the costs. In Germany the average household pays about €1.01 per month extra for the Feed-in Tariff program.
The environment, property owners & the whole economy benefit. Anyone who installs Renewable Energy can profit, spreading out the value among citizens and not just owners of large-scale power stations. Homeowners, farmers, small and large businesses and cooperatives can all participate. To date more than 500,000 German & Italian households have installed solar PV creating substantial employment. The National governments benefit, Feed-in Tariffs are designed to provide sufficient financial incentives without capital grants, rebates, or tax subsidies. Additionally, Feed-in Tariff policies are easy to implement and manage: by the end of 2010, more than €53 Billion will have been invested in Germany alone on renewable energy projects. Germany has benefited from taxes it has collected on the income generated from the sale of the electricity.
Additionally studies have shown that money spent locally (e.g. for building new solar energy projects) re-circulates 300-600% more than money sent out-of-country for oil or gas, etc. This secondary effect also helps the economy grow.
The benefit of a renewable energy investment, unlike traditional asset classes,
is that no capital appreciation of an asset is required or planned for. Renewable
energy investment is uncorrelated to property and equities and benefits by
simply selling a valuable commodity. In this case, electricity to a guaranteed
customer at a guaranteed price for 20 years which is underwritten by EU
directives and National Laws. The Solar 21 investment model takes much of
the uncertainty out of investing compared to traditional assets classes such as
property and equities, as these assets’ underlying value are heavily correlated to
market sentiment and emotion. The world and its population will always need
electricity.
Before accessing and using the Solar 21 website and its contents please read these terms and conditions as they constitute a Legal Notice and contain important legal information.
Solar 21's website contains certain information about the operation of the Solar 21 group including investment in Solar 21 Renewable Energy Ireland Limited. Investment in Solar 21 Renewable Energy Ireland Limited is not available to the public. This website does not constitute an offer to invest. Investments may only be made through advisers authorised to give advice pursuant to the Investment Intermediaries Act 1995. This website does not provide specific investment advice and is presented for informational purposes only. It does not represent that the services described on the site are suitable for or available to any specific investor. You are advised not to rely on any information contained in this site in the process of making a fully informed investment decision. Instead, you are urged to base investment decisions upon a thorough investigation and to obtain all necessary professional advice.