Hundreds of homes are to be powered by a major new solar farm for Shoreham Port.

Brighton Energy Co-operative is launching a shareholder drive to fund the £500,000 project, which would see up to 2,000 solar panels at the port.

The site would create 500kw of energy per year, enough to power 150 homes, from a 4,000sqm site, half the size of a football pitch.

The co-op was launched last year with the backing of more than £50,000 in loans and already has three major solar installations at Hove Enterprise Centre at Shoreham Port, City Coast Church in Portslade and St George’s Church in Brighton.

Over the past 11 months the three sites have generated more than 110,000kwh of electricity, about 20% more than projected, earning the co-op more than £18,000.

The electricity produced at Hove Enterprise Centre has saved £3,000 on the facility’s electricity bills while City Coast Church has saved just under £1,500.

Half of the electricity generated by the panels is used by the buildings and half is then sold back to the National Grid.

The co-op, formed by directors John Smith, Damien Tow, Ross Gilbert and Will Cottrell, currently has 78 shareholders but is looking for about three times that number to help fund the new scheme.

Directors in the company say they are looking to raise the funds by September and to install panels by November.

The coop’s directors are currently working with Shoreham Port Authority to identify which building to use for the new solar farm.

The new scheme will pay back investors 6% in the first year who will also be eligible to a 30% tax break through the enterprise investment scheme.

The co-op is also launching a social fund which will pay for half the costs of installing solar panels on homes in areas of the city suffering from high levels of fuel poverty.

Director John Smith said: “It has definitely exceeded our expectations in terms of energy production, it has exceeded what we had in our business model.

“We have looked at hundreds of possible sites but a lot of private landlords of large sites are risk averse.

“Shoreham Port is a trust and can look at a project with a long-term perspective.

“A lot of private landlords don’t see it as a long-term option but Shoreham Port can look 20 years into the future.”

To make a pledge towards the new scheme, visit www.brightonenergy. org.uk/pledge.