The Community Share Underwriting Fund (CSU Fund) has approved its first loan to Sheffield Renewables, a social enterprise aiming to develop a range of community sustainable energy schemes in the Sheffield area.

Sheffield Renewables is currently promoting a share offer seeking to raise over £400,000 from the community to deliver its first project, the Jordan Dam Hydropower Scheme on the River Don. The CSU Fund, managed by Resonance, has agreed to underwrite the community share issue up to £200,000. which effectively means that every pound invested which be match-funded up to this level. As a result investors can have confidence that Sheffield Renewables will raise sufficient finance to achieve its aims for a hydropower plant generating 310,000 kWh per annum, sufficient to supply around 80 average homes.

The CSU Fund, which can underwrite community share issues by up to 50% of the total fundraising target, decided to support Sheffield Renewables as they had a very competent management team, had applied research into other community hydro schemes to prepare a sensible business model with built-in safeguards and contingencies to maximise the likelihood of the scheme meeting performance targets.