DistGen Hinton

What does the company do?

The Distributed Generation (DistGen) group, set up in 2005, owns and operates renewable wind energy projects in the UK. DistGen Hinton was the fifth wind turbine project developed by the DistGen group and began generating renewable electricity in 2014.

The wind turbine used for the DistGen Hinton project underwent a complete overhaul and refurbishment after having spent 9 years in the Netherlands, before beginning a new operating period on a farm in South Gloucestershire in 2014. The wind turbine, a refurbished 500kW Vestas V52 turbine, generates renewable electricity fed into the UK grid. The wind turbine is accredited for the Feed-in Tariff scheme, which pays a fixed amount (rising annually with inflation) for each unit of electricity generated, plus an additional amount for the electricity exported to the grid. The company can choose to opt out of the export Feed-in tariff and instead agree a contract with an energy supplier when wholesale electricity prices are higher.

The electricity produced pays investors a return while a portion of gross revenues go to the parish of Dyrham & Hinton. In the case of DistGen Hinton, the aim is to donate 4% of annual revenues to the local community which will go to those projects that best support local needs, guided by the priorities of the local communities.

Why did the company raise money?

This was DistGen’s second offer on Abundance. The money raised refinanced the original installation costs of the Hinton wind project.

How does the company expect to repay the investment?

DistGen Hinton expects to repay investors from revenues it earns over the life of the investment from the generation and sale of electricity from its wind turbine.

How is the company making an impact?

DistGen Hinton is helping to increase the amount of renewable energy used in the UK’s electricity grid as we transition to a 100% low carbon energy future.

DistGen has created a scalable group of companies to localise and democratise energy provision. Alongside generating renewable energy, DistGen is also committed to delivering further benefits to communities by supporting social, welfare, cultural and/or sporting facilities, and where possible they offer a direct community contribution to encourage and sustain such local initiatives.