Setting a new world record in crowdfunding, a $1.76 million wind turbine project in the Netherlands was funded in just 13 hours. The 1,700 households who bought in will each be entitled to some of the electricity the turbine generates.
Each of the 6,648 shares sold will correspond to about 5,000 kWh of electricity per year delivered by the energy company Greenchoice. Shareholders will be able to monitor wind speeds and how much electricity their new wind turbine is producing through a smartphone app.
The crowdfunding sale was organized by Windcentrale, a company that facilitates cooperative wind turbine purchases. Windcentrale launched its wind turbine purchasing program in 2012, and the quick sale took even company co-founder Harm Reitsma by surprise. “We thought it would be popular,” he told Renewable Energy World, “but we never anticipated this enthusiastic reaction. It shows that people really want renewable energy.”
The company will auction off another wind turbine this Sunday.
Image by Patrick Finnegan via Inhabit
