Table of Contents
- Registration
- Electricity Sale and income
- Governance
- Advisors
- Finance
- Shares
- People
- Technology
- Other Solar Questions
- Environmental
- Questions about the Offer Information Statement
Registration
What level of commitment is associated with registering?
A registration is non-binding and you are not obligated to proceed with investing in SolarShare if you have registered. Please take the opportunity to read the information available on this website before you register. You are not committed to investing until you accept the investment offer detailed in the disclosure document.
What is the difference between registration and membership?
A registration is an expression of interest. There are no costs associated with registering. When you invest in the community solar farm, you become a member.How can I verify the amount I have registered to invest?
You can view your registration details, including the registered amount, by clicking on the private link that was sent to you at the time of registration.Can I make an application on behalf of another person?
Can I apply for shares as a joint owner?
The constitution allows for joint holders (section13), applying in joint with your spouse or partner is permitted.Can I apply for an amount above the minimum subscription?
Yes, we have set a maximum of $100,000 for an individual investment.Is there a physical address where I can deliver my application?
No you must use the online application form. The details of how to access this are in the Offer Information StatementHow can the value of the shares can be maintained over twenty years when the money is needed to invest in the panels etc which then will inevitably lose their value, and how can the ‘initial invested capital be returned to members’?
After Solarshare invests in the Solar Farm, the expected sum of returns is greater than the investment – which results in the return on investment we are forecasting. We are investigating with the ATO that instead of paying dividends to investors on a yearly basis, we pay a mixture of capital return and dividend. The capital return would result in SolarShare paying back, in increments, the cost of the shares, which would be reflected in the value of the shares.Can anyone outside of Australia invest?
Unfortunately, the project is only open to investments from ACT residents.
Electricity sale and income
Why have you chosen solar energy for a community renewable energy project?
When creating SolarShare Community Energy we reviewed all renewable energy options. The Board and project team identified solar PV as the most popular renewable energy generation technology among the broader community. Available areas of the ACT also lend themselves more efficiently and effectively to solar energy generation over other renewable power generation options. The SolarShare Board also recognised that the SolarShare team has far greater expertise in solar power generation than other types of renewable energy.Who buys the solar energy?
Depending on the project site, SolarShare will sell the solar power in one of two ways: For some, mostly rooftop projects, the solar power plant will sell energy directly to the energy user on the property where the solar power plant is located. This type of contract is often called a power purchase agreement. The energy user receives the benefit of a predetermined electricity price for many years to come and can hedge against possible future price rises. They can also be confident that their energy is sourced in an environmentally sound manner. The second type of project is where the electricity is sold out to the grid. This is done under a contract with Evo Energy. The contract is called a Feed-in-Tariff contract, which is a fixed price scheme for solar power plants operating in the ACT. This is a result of ACT government legislation,more information about the Large Scale Renewable Energy Generation Act (2011) is available on the ACT government website. SolarShare has certainty under both types of contract on the price the community will receive for the solar energy and the duration of the contract. SolarShare will release details of the type of energy contract selected and who the energy customer is when the community solar farm is open for investment. Click here to see the stages involved in joining SolarShare and the time frames covering when particular information will be released.Where can I learn more about power purchase agreements?
There is a significant amount of information available online from companies and institutions. We suggest conducting a Google search if you want to research this further.Isn’t the ACT Feed in Tariff closed to new developments?
The ACT Government have recent run Feed-in Tariff program under the Large Scale Renewable Generation Act. This program was particularly designed to encourage community-owned (locally owned) solar power projects.Where can I learn more about the Feed in Tariff?
Formal information on the ACT feed-in-tariff can be found on the ACT government legislation website.Would the project be able to store power through the use of batteries?
Yes, the use batteries would be possible, however currently we are not planning to include storage equipment such as batteries in any particular projects, as we have not assessed them to be economically viable at this time.What are the advantages and disadvantages of using batteries for the SolarShare Majura project?
For our flagship project unfortunately stored power can’t be sold at higher costs when demand is greater. This is because the Government program which we have applied to, will have a fixed overall price that we will receive for the energy we generate. Batteries would potentially offer us an opportunity to build an array larger than 1MW and store excess power to be exported at times the plant would not otherwise be generating. However due to battery costs there is no business case for us to do this at this time. We will continue to monitor developments in battery technology and prices. Roof-top projects may present a good case for us to use battery technology and we will explore this with individual sites. The suitability of batteries in a roof top scenario will depend on what times of the day the building uses the most electricity.What is the total investment cost for a 10kW capacity system in SolarShare? How does this cost compare with systems from other solar installers?
A 10kW capacity system in SolarShare works out to an approximate investment of $22,000. It is higher than current prices from other solar installers for this size of system as the price from an installer for a residential system of will be discounted by the value of the Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs discount). Cheaper solar power is one effect of RECs, however the issue is more complicated than this. RECs are a way of certifying energy came from a particular source. The person who ‘surrenders’ a REC is able to certify the energy they use as coming from the source which generated the REC. If you want to have energy you use as being counted as coming from a green generator you have to have (and surrender) the REC to prove it. Selling the REC to another party gives them the right to surrender it. This is most often done by an energy retailer on behalf of their customers, when someone signs up to a Greenpower scheme. If you have sold your REC you give the purchaser the right to use it in certifying a Greenpower sale to another customer. When you sell a REC (or use it as a discount on your system price) it is (usually) sold via a REC broker to an energy retailer who can then claim electricity they bought from a polluting source as green energy. People who sell RECs allow the purchaser to have the right to use energy (from any source) and count it as green energy as if it came from the seller’s generator. When you buy Greenpower the electricity retailer surrenders RECs on your behalf, equal to the quantity of green electricity you buy. It is not sensible to sell RECs from your solar power system and also be signed up to a Greenpower scheme, this is because you are equally able to surrender the RECs yourself (much more cost effectively) then selling them to have them eventually bought by a retailer who will surrender them on your behalf and call it Greenpower. Unlike small scale plants, utility scale plants do not get to claim their RECs as an upfront discount instead they earn RECs or ‘Large Generation Certificates’ annual, based on actual production amounts.Governance
What due diligence has been done on SolarShare and the other organizations you are working with? (E.g. solar farm developers, contractors, etc.)
SolarShare has a Board responsible for ensuring the progress of SolarShare’s plans and activities, to minimize the risks to the project and who are answerable to SolarShare’s members. This includes conducting due diligence on any of SolarShare’s providers, including developers and contractors.How will directors be elected?
Every year, new directors will be elected at the AGM according to the Board’s terms of reference. Directors are scheduled to stand down in a staggered fashion with one third of the board positions vacated each year. A director’s term of office is three (3) years. SolarShare is governed by a vote at the AGM. Each member has the opportunity to vote on motions at general meetings, including elections of directors.What is a member owned business?
A member owned business is designed to encourage member shareholders to have a closer connection with the activities of the enterprise. In a legal sense, SolarShare is incorporated under the corporations act as a public unlisted company. It is controlled by a board of directors who act on behalf of the member shareholders, this kind of operation is also sometimes called a mutually owned business. Examples of other member owned businesses in Australia are Bank Australia, Independent Liquor Group and RACQ. In contrast to many corporations, where the board must act solely to maximize the financial return, the board of SolarShare is chartered to act for the benefit of its members through the company’s objectives: To promote the uptake of renewable energy by facilitating accessible community investment with a financial return in local renewable energy projects; and To create for Members a connection to:- others in their community;
- the way in which energy is generated;
- the impact their energy generation has on the environment; and
- our society’s transition to a sustainable future.
What if SolarShare wanted to become to listed public company on the stock exchange, would this risk losing community control?
Our constitution includes anti-takeover style clauses limiting the ownership of one party and/or related parties. To lose community control, SolarShare’s members would first need to vote to change the constitution to remove these provisions; this would not be possible without a 75% majority of the members. The risks involved would include the possible loss of community ownership status for the Majura Community Solar farm and the ACT Government feed-in tariff support, which is based upon genuine community ownership for the project.Why did SolarShare set up as a company instead of as a cooperative
A section of Cooperatives law had the potential to limit the return that we would be able to return to people as dividends. Unfortunately this ruled out a co-op structure for SolarShare. Since that time, Cooperatives law in all state and territories are aligned with a lead state (NSW). In particular the limiting paragraph was regulation 3.19 linking the return rate to 10% more than the CBA bank bill rate. Upon clarification we were informed by the Registrar of coops that if the CBA bank bill rate was 4% then 10% more than this rate would be 4.4% (and not 14%).What is the legal liability of SolarShare members – is it limited to the value of shares as it would be with a limited liability company structure?
Yes, legal liability is limited to the value of shares held by a member.What are the membership requirements?
SolarShare requires a minimum level of activity from members. To retain membership you will need to continue to fulfil these active membership requirements:- Remain subscribed to our newsletter.
- Own a minimum number of shares, please see the question in the finance section regarding the minimum investment level.
- Complete our annual members survey.