Before Stroud-based Ecotricity could challenge the move at a public meeting, rival company Good Energy has sold its renewable generation capacity.

It's the latest development in a bitter and long-standing feud between the two companies.

The sale for £24.5 million to Bluefield Solar Income Fund means Good Energy has disposed of two wind farms and six solar installations located in Cornwall, Dorset and Wiltshire which jointly created 47.5MW of energy.

That was something that Dale Vince, founder and CEO of Ecotricity, was trying to prevent, saying it made 'little sense'  for a green energy supplier.

Ecotricity, which owns a quarter of the shares in Good Energy but failed in its hostile takeover  of the company last year, delivered a demand for an emergency general meeting on Christmas Eve.

The meeting, scheduled for February, called for the sacking of the chairman Will Whitehorn and a halt to the renewable energy portfolio sale.

But Wiltshire-based Good Energy says the sale is part of an ongoing strategic shift away from power generation towards a 'digital first' policy which includes allowing customers to export excess energy from solar panels to the grid and developing the electric car charging app Zap-Map.

The sale strengthens the company's balance sheet, leaving it substantially debt free with a strong cash position.

The generation portfolio provides around 15% of Good Energy customers' electricity and will continue to do so via existing power purchase agreements.

Bluefield previously acquired the Good Energy developed West Raynham Solar Farm in Norfolk in 2015.

Nigel Pocklington, Chief Executive Officer of Good Energy, described the sale as 'a transformational moment' for the company and a 'fantastic deal' for stakeholders.

He said: "We are using the capital from our past, to invest in our future.

"Last year, we outlined our clear strategic direction to capitalise on a rapidly growing market in decentralised, digitised clean energy and transport services, based on 100% 'real' renewable power.

"We are ideally positioned to benefit from this trend through our investment in Zap-Map, the UK's leading EV app, and our growing stable of other energy products and services.

"We expect to make further investments across both transport and decentralised energy to deliver our strategic plan, which we believe has massive headroom for growth.

"Alongside these investments into mobility and energy services, this transaction reduces debt and further strengthens our balance sheet, which is particularly important given the current volatility in the energy market."

Punchline Gloucester approached Ecotricity for a comment.