The Co-operative Bank has signed off on £200m in loans to renewable energy companies this year.

The £200m is half of £400m that the bank ringfenced for renewable operations in 2007. It believes that financing of smaller projects is essential to the UK achieving a low carbon economy and looks favourably on small-to-medium investments of up to £25m. It has had considerable interest from community groups and smaller developers since the introduction of feed-in-tariffs.
The bank’s head of renewable Richard Wilcox said: “A low carbon economy will not solely occur by relying on the major renewables schemes. Renewable energy is a growth area that is becoming increasingly attractive due to government incentives aimed at kick-starting the market, which will hopefully lead to the country achieving its long-term carbon reduction targets.”

The bank is expanding its 14-strong renewables operation at its headquarters in Manchester and is to create a new team in Scotland.