Governance
The full rules of the Society are available here.
Governance and people
Please note that this information is no longer updated and is for reference purposes only.
Chase Community Solar is overseen by a voluntary board of directors. It is owned by its investors with each member having one vote.
Total number of shares in issue
34,250 shares have been issued through the pioneer share offer and one share to each of the founding directors.
Annual General Meeting
Each shareholder, whatever the relevant stake, automatically becomes an equal society member of the Chase Community Solar Limited on a one member one vote basis. The First annual general meeting will be held in June 2015.
People
Management
Chase Community Solar's board is made up of a set of qualified directors all of whom are also on the board of Southern Staffordshire Community Energy, which has been the primary driver for setting up CCS Ltd.
Non-executive directors
Chair
Mike Kinghan
Mike is an experienced economic regeneration professional who has worked in senior positions in local authorities and regeneration agencies as well as running his own consultancy business for several years. He was Chairman of the national award-winning Whittington and Fisherwick Environment Group for six years, leading the Group in devising a series of energy-saving programmes. In 2012 he was awarded the status of a regional ‘Green Leader’ in recognition of his work with WFEG and advocacy of low carbon communities and in June 2012 was awarded the MBE for services to sustainability and biodiversity in Staffordshire and the West Midlands region.
Director
John Coombes
John graduated in architecture in 1973 following which he worked as a project architect and project manager until retiring in 2010. He has lived in Lichfield since 1978 and joined the board of SSCE in 2013 having invested in the company’s PV schemes in Whittington and with an interest in promoting other community energy projects.
Director
Doug Haigh
Doug is a retired Chartered Valuation Surveyor, principally engaged, over a 40 year career, in buying selling and managing mainly commercial, retail and industrial property for public and private sector clients. He has lived in Lichfield for 33 years and joined the board of SSCE in 2013, having been an investor and with a keen interest in environmental matters particularly as they affect the construction industry.
Director
Robin Powell
Robin Powellis a Chartered Mechanical Engineer who has worked on power station equipment, off road vehicles and defence materiel. Since retiring his family has invested in two community wind farms, Westmill and Fenland, and a Future Energy Prospects Community Fund as well as a domestic solar thermal system. His family lives near Stafford and is engaged with growing Miscanthus (elephant grass) near Lichfield for biomass electricity generation at Ely and Drax power stations’.
Director
Kate Sadler
Kate graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Environmental Biology and went off to become a primary school teacher. She has a longstanding interest in environmental issues and was a founding member of Low Carbon Lichfield, through which she organises a home energy auditing scheme to help residents take practical action to reduce their adverse effect on the environment. She has recently completed a M.Sc. in Architecture: Advanced Environmental and Energy Studies.
Director
Andrea Simpson
Andrea is passionate about environmental issues, and after a 30-year career in telecommunications, now devotes her time to charitable and environmental causes as well as caring for her daughter. Andrea is a director and Company Secretary of Southern Staffordshire Community Energy Limited, as well as a founder member and Honorary Secretary of Low Carbon Lichfield, and Chair of a national charitable support group. She brings her organisational and administration skills and experience to the position of director and company secretary of Chase Community Solar.
Director
Robin Taylor
Robin has a professional background in human resources, learning and economic development and area regeneration, working in the private, voluntary and public sectors. This included Birmingham City Council, the Learning and Skills Council and two regeneration zones in the West Midlands. He is a founder director of two social enterprises and also a director of Cherry Orchard Gardening Services (COGS).
Anthony Walters
Anthony has a marketing, sales and general management experience in 11 businesses in 6 corporations in 13 countries in the consumer goods and energy sectors. His passion for the environment and sustainability started in germany 25 years ago while working in one of the pioneer companies in the Green Point recycling scheme and later in Brazil developing sustainably sourced coffee and cocoa and most recently pioneering the use of waste fruit to create fully nutritional powders for people living off less than £1/day.
He subsequently led honeywell’s UK energy business saving 330,000 tonnes of CO2 and £2.2Million for his customers and is now running two businesses in the food and supply chain/cost consulting arenas. He is also Chair of Low Carbon Lichfield.
Bob Bell
Bob is a Chartered Director, Chartered Electrical Engineer & Chartered Building Services Engineer with 40+ years of senior experience in sustainable energy & energy utilisation. Responsible for many pioneering developments in energy management that we use today, Bob’s proven philosophy is that good environmental practice should generate profits for all, not costs. An example was his pioneering of commercially successful waste-to-energy schemes. He has advised governments & enterprises in over 50 countries on energy programmes that cut costs, & improved human well-being. He has been Chairman, VP, CEO and MD of various successful sustainable energy companies. Living in Armitage, Bob is semi-retired with his own energy consultancy.
Management contract
Chase Community Solar has entered into an agreement with Sharenergy under which they are assisting with the preparation and management of the share offer on behalf of the Society.
Sharenergy is a Shrewsbury-based co-operative that helps community groups to establish community owned renewable energy co-operatives. It is a spin-off from Energy4All, a not-for-profit company that owes its origin to the Baywind community wind co-operative in Cumbria.
Further information on Share Energy can be found here.
Solar Panel installers
The Society's preferred contractor is J Tomlinson who have nominated their team for the project and have been working with the Society and the Council on the project. Following the share launch the final contract will be agreed.
As long as certain conditions are complied with, roof mounted solar panels are treated as a “permitted development” and as such, an application for planning permission is not needed.
In order to be eligible for the feed in tariff, the equipment that is installed, and the company that carries out the installation, must be certified under the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS).
Directors remunerations
No remuneration has been paid by the Chase Community Solar Limited to the Directors.
When the PV installation are generating electricity, each Director will be entitled to claim fees and/or expenses not exceeding £50 p.a. in addition to travel expenses.
Directors holdings
The total intended shareholdings of the directors amounts to £31,000 in aggregate between this share offer and the pioneer share offer.
Diversity
Female directors: There are currently two female directors.
Employee satisfaction
The Society has no direct employees.
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