NEARLY £1m of solar farm shares are being offered for sale to help fund green community projects.

Energy co-operative Green Energy Nayland is offering investors a chance own part of its 20 acre solar farm on Birch Airfield.

The organisation is working with Push Energy, which is building the solar farm at Birch.

Green Energy Nayland hopes to run a 5.6-acre section of the site, generating enough energy topower 383 homes.

To do that, it needs to raise £900,000.

The group is looking for investors, preferably from Birch, or the Colchester area, with between £250 and £100,000 to invest.

Green Energy Nayland director Will Hitchcock said: “People should understand where their energy comes from.

“It’s not just the Big Six suppliers.

Themoreof these things that exist, the more control people will have over their energy.”

In return for their investment, shareholders would be paid a dividend from money made selling the electricity to theNational Grid.

Any profits above a certain level would be ploughed into community energy projects, to be decidedby investors.

Schemes could include installing solar panels on schools and running classes to promote the advantages of solar power.

The project is believed to be the first of its kind in the UK.

The co-operative started with a scheme which benefited Nayland Primary School in 2011.

Mr Hitchcock said: “When I started this up, four years ago people didn’t reallyunderstand solar. We had no idea what we would raise.

“Within two weeks we had raised more than we needed.

“I think it is much more understood now as an investment.”

The solar farm will share PushEnergy'sconnection to the National Grid, cutting costs.

The share offer ends on May 8,andif all goes toplan, workon site will start no later than June.

Three public meetings are being held to explain the scheme.

The first is tonight (Tuesday) at Birch Memorial Hall School Hill.

There will also be meetings at Colchester Rugby Club, in Mill Road, on April 28, and another, on May 6, at Nayland Church Hall, inBear Street.

All the meetings will run from5pm until 8pm.

For more information visit greenenergynayland.org.uk/co lchester-community-solar.html