THE chance to own part of a unique community solar power station has proved irresistible, with more than £4m invested in just six weeks.

A share offer for the solar farm on the Oxfordshire/Wiltshire border closed at midnight on Tuesday with applications coming in until the last minute.

Directors have now announced that the offer was fully subscribed though final figures will not be known for some days.

Director Adam Twine said: “It’s been a hectic six weeks since we launched at the end of June, particularly in the last week as hundreds of applications came in each day.

“We’ve had over 1,500 applications, and the application for our youngest potential member was on behalf of Olivia, born just five days ago!

“There is clearly a real desire for this type of opportunity and I hope other communities will feel encouraged by this tremendous response to find ways to set up their own projects.”

Westmill Solar Cooperative will be the only large-scale solar farm in the UK that is set to be community owned. Covering 30 acres with 5MW of solar panels, it will become the biggest community owned solar farm in the world.

The final number of applications will not be known immediately but directors have confirmed the offer was fully subscribed by the close yesterday with more than £250,000 a day coming in over the final few days of the offer.

Chairman Philip Wolfe said: “Community ownership of a photovoltaic installation of this scale in the UK used to be just a dream; now we’re making the world’s largest co-operative solar park a reality.”

The majority of the applications have come from people local to the site – almost 60 per cent living within 40km. Successful applicants will have an equal say in the running of the solar farm as it is run on a ‘one member one vote’ principle, irrespective of the size of shareholding.