Sir, I want to take the opportunity to thank all the people from Wiltshire and Swindon who came along to the official launch of the Westmill Solar Co-operative on June 23.

The event was a huge success as hundreds came to see Government Minister Ed Vaizey officially launch the scheme. Ed, who’s our local MP for Wantage and Didcot, has pledged to become an investor. Hundreds have already applied for shares in this unique solar power station which is already generating clean energy and will continue to do so for the next 24 years at least.

Best of all, local people will get priority if we are oversubscribed for shares and will get a healthy return on their long-term investment.

Over 300 people have joined as members since our launch, and there is still time to join them, but only until the end of the month. We believe you can expect an average of 11 per cent return annually for the 24-year period of investment.

The organisation is based on the Westmill Wind Farm Co-operative on the same site which we set up five years ago and has 2,300 members, most of whom live within a 50-mile radius of the site.

I’m anticipating that Westmill Solar Co-operative will achieve even more.

Once again, thank you for your support and if you haven’t applied for shares yet, you can do so by visiting www.westmillsolar.coop Adam Twine Director Westmill Solar Co-operative Coleshill