The first commercial wind turbines to be built in the West Midlands will be financed by members of the public through one of the first ever green energy bond launches in the UK.

The Wind Prospect Group has planning consent to build two 126-metre turbines at the Rodbaston campus of South Staffordshire College, near Penkridge.

It intends to get retail investors involved in financing the project, which will supply 4 MW of low-cost electricity to the college, through a new renewable energy bond called Rebonds.

The turbines will represent the first commercial-scale wind project to get off the ground in the region after several others were stymied in the planning process amid fierce opposition from locals.

The first £6 million of the £10 million bond issue will be channelled towards the South Staffordshire College turbines, with the remaining money raised going towards other projects around the country.

The renewable energy bond will deliver a fixed rate return of 7.5 per cent over a four-year initial investment period, with a higher rate for larger investments.

A minimum of £500 can be invested.

The wind energy bond issue is only the second of its kind in the UK, and the first to be linked with a specific renewables project.

Wind Prospect Group chief executive Euan Cameron said he believed there was an appetite among investors to put their money towards environmental projects – but at the same time achieve a decent rate of return.

“It’s fairly well used in Germany but it’s not really been used in the UK before,” he said.