The Co-operative Bank has almost tripled the amount has lent to the renewable energy sector over the past 12 months.

It lent £232 milliom to 17 completed renewable energy projects in the first half of 2012, and is on track to lend a similar amount by the end of the year. In the same period in 2011 the bank lent £79 million to completed projects.

James Sutcliffe, renewable energy manager at The Co-operative Bank, said: “Undoubtedly, demand for renewable projects – especially wind energy schemes – is at an all time high.

“We have seen the UK public begin to embrace renewable energy as a viable alternative to traditional energy sources and nowadays it is not only companies who are investing in renewable energy projects.”

He added: “The Co-operative Bank continues to fund a large number of community renewable energy schemes, where profits are invested back into the communities that own them, in some cases with projected incomes of millions of pounds over 20 years.

“At a time when many communities are fighting for survival from the wider economic challenges, small to medium renewable energy schemes provide them an opportunity for communities to become sustainable, creating local jobs and diversifying local economies.”