Renewable energy schemes currently offer far greater returns to investors than cash Isas, but there are dangers
Savers are being offered returns of up to 9% a year or four times the best available rates on cash Isas by lending their money to build wind and solar energy projects across the UK. Promoters claim the schemes offer a steady and predictable income, although they are not without risk.
A primary school in Leominster, Herefordshire, is raising money to place solar panels on its roof with the lure of extraordinary tax breaks. A renewable energy co-operative building wind turbines in Derbyshire and Yorkshire has a scheme expected to give its investors 7.3% a year. In Teesside, local farms and businesses will be powered by turbines promising returns of up to 7.5% a year, while near Liskeard in Cornwall a single wind turbine is claiming that returns should be around 9% a year.