Energy sector experts from Bristol law firm Burges Salmon have advised retail group Marks & Spencer on a new community energy scheme.
M&S Energy Society, a joint collaboration between M&S and community energy organisation Energy4All, is designed to generate renewable electricity from solar panels installed on M&S stores across the UK. 
It is inviting members to invest between £100 and £100,000 in solar panels, which will be installed on up to nine M&S stores. M&S will buy the energy generated to power its stores. The society is targeting an interest rate of 5% each year for its members.
As well as providing an alternative investment opportunity for ethically conscious customers, each installation will result in a reduction of CO2 emissions released by the M&S stores.
The initiative will also help to fulfil M&S’s green energy commitment; to ensure that 50% of electricity used in its UK and ROI building operations comes from small-scale renewable sources by 2020.
The Burges Salmon team was led by energy sector partner Nick Churchward with assistance from a cross firm team including energy sector solicitors Stephen Lavington and Dan Ballard.
They worked closely with M&S on preparing documentation at all levels of the project. This included individual rooftop lease arrangements and construction documents through to the private wire power purchase agreement for the project as a whole, as well as advising M&S on the associated share offer, and the structuring and governance of the community benefit society delivering the projects.
Nick Churchward, pictured, said: “Having previously advised long-standing client M&S on a number of exciting energy projects, we are really pleased to work with the team on this community funded renewable energy project, which is a first for any UK major retailer and demonstrates M&S’s genuine commitment to its Plan A sustainability objectives.”
In September 2014, Burges Salmon’s award-winning energy team advised M&S on its sector-leading use of biomethane, becoming the first retailer in the UK to purchase Biomethane Gas Certificates. In November 2014, the team advised M&S on its 6MW rooftop solar panel array, the UK’s largest rooftop installation, on its state-of-the-art distribution centre at Castle Donington.
