Solar crowdfunding campaign smashes target in 24 hours

A crowdfunding campaign in the US has raised $313,000 (£194,000) in just 24 hours to help finance four solar projects across the country.

The company behind the drive, Mosaic, saw over 400 investors from California and New York pledge between $25 and $30,000 (£15-18,000) earlier this week. Recognised investors from elsewhere in the US also contributed to the total.

Individuals who gave money to the project, which will install solar panels on “affordable housing apartments for low-income residents”, are expected to see an annual return of 4.5%.

“We see a massive transition coming from fossil fuels to clean energy, and we think people should be able to profit from that transition”, said Billy Parish, Mosaic’s president.

“Mosaic is creating the architecture for mass participation in the clean energy economy.”

The surge in investment brings Mosaic’s overall funding total for 12 solar projects to the $1.1m (£682,000) mark.

Funding platforms such as Abundance Generation and Microgenius offer similar opportunities to investors in the UK.

As one Mosaic investor put it, investment models of this kind are “lowering the barrier for regular people like me – not just rich investors or big companies – to benefit from solar power while providing a good return on investment.”

While “rich investors or big companies” clearly have a huge role to play in securing investment in renewable energy, democratic finance is a sure-fire way of outlining the many benefits of clean power – environmental and financial – to a wider scope of individuals.

Further reading:

Sharing the responsibility of a green future

Abundance prepares for switch on of landmark wind turbine

Inaugural Abundance projects hits funding target

Community finance platform launches first renewables project

Clean British energy in action