Initial crowdfunding campaign launched to finance the extension of a photovoltaic power plant as part of the regeneration of a former coal mine site in southwestern France

Paris, June 21, 2018 – Neoen, a leading independent producer of green energy, and WiSEED, the leading European crowdfunding platform, have sealed a framework agreement to crowdfund renewable energy projects. The initial project is to raise €250,000 from the local population in five departments of southwestern France to extend a photovoltaic power plant as part of the regeneration of a former coal mine at Carmaux-Cagnac. Investors are being offered a return of 5% for 4 years.

A framework agreement for the CRE4 call for tenders

Under the incentive arrangements put in place by the French Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE), energy producers that crowdfund from the local area to cover the cost of their renewable energy projects are entitled to higher feed-in tariffs. Not only does this secure higher returns for project developers, it also provides a way for the general population to make a very substantive contribution to the energy transition by investing their savings openly and transparently in the real economy.

Neoen, the leading French independent producers of green energy, has entered into a framework agreement with the WiSEED crowdfunding platform to collaborate regularly on fundraising for CRE4 projects. That gives Neoen a way of tapping a large and active community of investors across France to crowdfund its projects.

Initial campaign to raise €250,000 for a photovoltaic power plant in southwestern
France

Under this arrangement, Neoen has launched a €250,000 crowdfunding campaign for the “Cap Découverte 4 bis” project. The aim is to regenerate one of the sites previously occupied by the Carmaux-Cagnac mining complex. The photovoltaic power plant will occupy 18.5 acres and will have an installed capacity of 5 MWp.

As specified by the CRE4 call for tenders, only inhabitants of the Tarn department, as well as those of the five neighboring departments of Aude, Aveyron, Haute-Garonne, Hérault, Tarn-et-Garonne will be able to invest in the project. Savers investing in the project will earn a return of 5% p.a. for 4 years (excluding platform costs and taxes), with interest paid annually.

Jean-Marc Clerc, Head of Renewable Energy Development at WiSEED, commented: “We are delighted to have entered into this agreement with Neoen, a well-respected and high-profile renewable energy project developer and contractor. It enables us to offer our investors high-quality projects, such as the photovoltaic project regenerating a former mining facility. Upon its completion, the project will generate enough electricity every year to cover the consumption of over 2,800 homes while saving more than 2,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions. That’s exactly the type of impact our savers want to have by investing their money with us.”

Xavier Barbaro, Chairman of Neoen, added: “Renewable energy is an inherently local power source. As the leading independent renewable energy producer in France, we are delighted that people living close to our projects can contribute in full confidence to the funding of these projects, which we have designed and developed to meet the extremely high standards we are known for. We have chosen WiSEED to support us with this plan, which represents a new departure for us but is one we are likely to repeat several times given the size of our pipeline of projects under development.”