Solar Energy Firm Collapses Owing £655 Million to British Taxpayers

A solar energy company has gone into administration after racking up more than half a billion pounds in debt to a local authority in Essex. Bloomberg U.K. has more.

Toucan Energy Holdings 1 Ltd., which owns 53 solar farms across the country and was run by the financier Liam Kavanagh, had borrowed £655 million ($773 million) over four years from Thurrock Council to fuel its expansion.

In September, Rob Gledhill, the former leader of the council, resigned after the government appointed a commissioner to take over the Conservative-led authority. At the time of his resignation, Gledhill said in a statement: “As Leader of the Council the political buck stops with me and as such it would only be right, and expected, that I resign as Leader of the Council.”

In July, John Kent, the council’s opposition leader, described the investments as “a scandal of huge proportions”.

Last week, Thurrock Council appointed administrators from Interpath Advisory, which has been tasked with selling off the farms to return cash to the council. While Toucan Energy Holdings 1 is in administration, Interpath said in a statement that the underlying parks were not, and would continue to operate as normal.

Mark Coxshall, leader of Thurrock Council, said in a statement that the move would “maximise recovery” for taxpayers.

You can also read about the collapse of the company in the Guardian here. Funnily enough, the author of the article is not George Monbiot.