Reading Hydro CBS is pleased to announce that following the recent reopening of our Share Offer to new investment, we have been successful in reaching our revised target of £980,000 to build and operate twin Archimedes turbines by Caversham Weir in Reading, UK.
Successful Local-led investment
2020 has certainly been a challenging year, and it has been no different for Reading Hydro, as we reached a critical point for our project in the summer. Following on from our Share Offer Raise earlier this year in February, and after obtaining firm quotes and timescales for delivery of both our required infrastructure and equipment in the following months, the Board of Directors decided that a revised Share Offer and a reopening period was needed to ensure that the construction of twin Archimedes Screw hydro-electric turbines could go ahead by Caversham Weir.
We reopened our Revised Share Offer in August 2020 with a new target of £980,000, with current and new investors welcomed to join and build on their commitments to the project as to help us reach our revised target. We further extended the offer into early September as to allow more local investors their chance to get involved with the project, offsetting any ‘surplus’ against the £100,000 investment from our biggest institutional investor, Co-operatives UK. This extension has allowed us to ensure that 96% of our investors are people and businesses that are local to Reading and the Reading area – truly a phenomenal achievement for a project run by locals, for local benefit.
A Significant Milestone
Having closed the Share Offer following a successful raise, the Board of Directors are now placing into motion the next steps of the build and administration of the scheme. Our administrators, Sharenergy, will be contacting investors to formally issue their shares to them prior to the end of September – Reading Hydro asks that all investors keep an eye out for this communication, and that they should contact us at their earliest convenience if after September they have not received the official issuing of shares notifications.
Concurrently, the Board are also working with our Civils contractor, Land & Water, to prepare our site and start the process of building the foundations for the turbines. This work, scheduled to take place during the rest of 2020 by Caversham Weir, will be the first phase of building for the project, with the planned installation of the Spaans-Babcock Archimedes screws taking place in early 2021.
Our sincere thanks
The Board of Directors wish to thank all of our investors, members and volunteers who have committed themselves to this project to help ensure that clean energy from the River Thames becomes a reality for Reading. there is a long way to go yet, but we are confident that we are making real progress in delivering sustainable energy for the benefit of the Reading community.
With Many Thanks,
The Directors,
Reading Hydro CBS Ltd
