The UK's first urban community-owned solar energy project in Brixton, Lambeth, has scooped an award in the Sustainable Housing Finance category, which celebrates projects that are at the vanguard of housing sustainability best practice.

Brixton Energy Solar 1 is co-produced by Lambeth Council and Repowering South London with support from local residents. Funding for the project was raised through a share offer that attracted investors from the local community and throughout the UK. The solar panels are situated on the roofs of a building on the Loughborough Estate in Brixton. The panels started generating electricity in March 2012 and since then have exceeded the annual generation target by 28%, despite one of the wettest summers on record.

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Co-founder and project manager of Brixton Energy, Agamemnon Otero, said: "Brixton Solar Energy 1 proves that it really is possible for clean energy to make financial sense. Helping the environment by producing clean energy doesn’t have to be costly and winning this award underscores the viability of the project’s business model, which brings investors a return of 3% p/a."

(CD)