Green & Ethical Investment News and Suggestions

JKenH

Article from Money Observer on renewable energy investment trusts. Despite the headline  a cautionary note is sounded

The main problem unsettling investors has been the downward trajectory of UK power prices. By the start of 2020, UK power price forecasts had already fallen over 30% since the trusts were launched, with falling gas prices one of the main culprits. Worries were exacerbated when leading forecaster Bloomberg New Energy Finance warned of a steepening decline over the next 10 years, partly due to ever-growing generation at increasingly competitive prices by offshore wind and PV solar assets. This has been described as the sector ‘cannibalising’ its own profitability.

https://www.moneyobserver.com/renewable-energy-investment-trusts-retain-appeal-among-income-investors

Martyn1981

JKenH said:

Article from Money Observer on renewable energy investment trusts. Despite the headline  a cautionary note is sounded

The main problem unsettling investors has been the downward trajectory of UK power prices. By the start of 2020, UK power price forecasts had already fallen over 30% since the trusts were launched, with falling gas prices one of the main culprits. Worries were exacerbated when leading forecaster Bloomberg New Energy Finance warned of a steepening decline over the next 10 years, partly due to ever-growing generation at increasingly competitive prices by offshore wind and PV solar assets. This has been described as the sector ‘cannibalising’ its own profitability.

https://www.moneyobserver.com/renewable-energy-investment-trusts-retain-appeal-among-income-investors

Hi Ken, just like all the other G&E news threads, this is one is for like minded people to share information with other like minded people. It's not here to say that folk should invest in G&E funds, nor for folk like you to argue/debate against the overriding premise of the thread.

Investing, and investments of any type, in any product are for the individual to decide, this thread is, as I said, simply to share between like minded individuals, what we find/have found. Those not interested in G&E investments would naturally be expected to ignore the thread.

If you think people shouldn't invest in G&E, then why not argue that on your "Alternative to Green & Ethical Threads" thread, as this one was never designed nor envisaged for pro/con debate on the issue.

JKenH

Martyn1981 said:

JKenH said:

Article from Money Observer on renewable energy investment trusts. Despite the headline  a cautionary note is sounded

The main problem unsettling investors has been the downward trajectory of UK power prices. By the start of 2020, UK power price forecasts had already fallen over 30% since the trusts were launched, with falling gas prices one of the main culprits. Worries were exacerbated when leading forecaster Bloomberg New Energy Finance warned of a steepening decline over the next 10 years, partly due to ever-growing generation at increasingly competitive prices by offshore wind and PV solar assets. This has been described as the sector ‘cannibalising’ its own profitability.

https://www.moneyobserver.com/renewable-energy-investment-trusts-retain-appeal-among-income-investors

Hi Ken, just like all the other G&E news threads, this is one is for like minded people to share information with other like minded people. It's not here to say that folk should invest in G&E funds, nor for folk like you to argue/debate against the overriding premise of the thread.

Investing, and investments of any type, in any product are for the individual to decide, this thread is, as I said, simply to share between like minded individuals, what we find/have found. Those not interested in G&E investments would naturally be expected to ignore the thread.

If you think people shouldn't invest in G&E, then why not argue that on your "Alternative to Green & Ethical Threads" thread, as this one was never designed nor envisaged for pro/con debate on the issue.

I am not suggesting people don’t invest in RE; just that they should be aware that like any other investment there are some RE investments where you will win and some where you might lose money. Should I not point that out and just let people think if you make a green investment it is guaranteed to make money? 

The investments I would be keen to avoid are old wind and solar installations burdened with the legacy cost of old technology which can’t compete in this era of ultra low energy, (a similar problem faced by the fossil fuel industry). 

I wonder if this is a potentially a problem for the future with some of the small scale wind and solar projects that might historically have been financed via Abundance.

I see people have enjoyed a good return from Abundance but as joefizz pointed out some of the investments seem a little overpriced currently. That doesn’t mean they were bad investments; the reverse in fact, they have been good investments but just might not be so good to buy today. When a disconnect develops between price and underlying value it is inevitable there will be a correction at some point. 

Maybe I will be proved completely wrong but just flagging up the risk as they say.

I have been looking around for sound RE investment opportunities for my SIPP but as I have pointed out those available seemed a little overpriced and not necessarily a good long term bet. 

A couple of weeks ago I suggested, on here,  an investment in the wind farm operator Orsted (formerly Danish Oil and Natural Gas) might be one to consider and the same day I put my money where my mouth is. (Currently after dealing and exchange rate costs I am up 7.8 % but that could all reverse very quickly). 

So you will see I am not against investing RE after all, I just want to choose an investment that I believe has a chance of offering a financial return rather than doing it, or encouraging others to do it, purely for ideological reasons. 

Coastalwatch

Coastalwatch said:

Tables turned this week with FTSE dropping 132 points the ISA lost a whole 1% finishing at 99.2% while our Green Energy Storage Fund gained 2% closing on 108%

Another up and down week for the Stock Market saw it finish only a couple of points lower by the end of the week. In view of that it was indeed a credit to the fund managers that our ISA gained a whole 1% to close at 100.2%.

The Green Energy Storage Fund threatened briefly to finish higher but held firm at 108%. Being the end of June a dividend of 1.75% was received for it. A good week all round then .

joefizz

JKenH said:

When a disconnect develops between price and underlying value it is inevitable there will be a correction at some point.

I would take a different tack on this as well. Im not going to single out abundance so I'll not comment on individual things but there is a trend developing in a lot of investments which increase levels of abstraction which get away from my own particular aim of helping people. A lot of the original investments (on platforms, also coops etc) were for groups of people or communities funding what was essentially a moneysaving exercise but also with a good grounding in green and ethical. As time has progressed this has moved away and instead of dealing with individuals, groups of individuals or small companies with a community focus to the shadier ends of the 'green' and 'ethical' spectrum. A quick look through the various crowdfunding sites will show a shocking level of bandwagon jumping but its too late for that and a lot of stuff gets lost in the noise. It only takes one co-op model badly run to get headlines and taint the rest of the perfectly good models being run for community good.
With everything that is ahead, social capital will become as useful if not more useful than monetary capital, the rise of repair cafes etc show this and show that people want to contribute. It might be that going forward increased costs make people reduce, reuse, recycle more (and in that order!).
I dont think its really down to any individual to say what defines green or ethical or indeed investment. You can use previous knowledge and invest time rather than cash and there will be a lot of groups that could do with that in the forseeable.

Coastalwatch

Coastalwatch said:

Another up and down week for the Stock Market saw it finish only a couple of points lower by the end of the week. In view of that it was indeed a credit to the fund managers that our ISA gained a whole 1% to close at 100.2%.

The Green Energy Storage Fund threatened briefly to finish higher but held firm at 108%. Being the end of June a dividend of 1.75% was received for it. A good week all round then .

With a drop in FTSE this week from 6157.41 to 6095.3, approx 1% it was a credit to the ISA team to reduce our loss to 0.13% so now 100.1% of original investment.

On the other hand our Green Energy Storage Fund rose steadily throughout to close on 111%. It would appear that storage is attracting a lot of interest currently.

On the other hand the National grid shares fell for the second week running closing at 871 from a previous high of 996. Maybe not actually Green or renewable, but without, both would be scuppered!

Coastalwatch

Coastalwatch said:

There was mention of a combined wind and wave technology proposal on the Forum recently and coincidentally Marine Power Systems have secured £17.5m funding for their patented technology and are seeking to raise more on the Seedrs platform to assist in getting it into the Market place.

Positioned to capture the best of wind and wave energy to assist with a low carbon future. I don't believe a similar combination has successfully been tried before so an opportunity to get in on the ground floor for those of an adventurous nature.

Certainly not a recommendation, but it does have very green credentials so might just offer some minor support to help them on their way!

The above offering opens to the public on Monday so just a day or two left to enlist on the Seedrs platform for anyone interested. Minimum investment £17.91.

Not a recommendation.

The oceans are a huge source of untapped renewable energy, so have gambled on their success by investing a couple of weeks pocket money to help them on their way.

Martyn1981

Just to say that Abundance has now opened a new scheme for investment. It's only for 5yrs and 1.2% interest. The capital is part repaid each year.

New investment open: help West Berkshire build back greener

West Berkshire Council’s first Community Municipal Investment is open now. This investment is the UK’s first ever local government green bond, and allows you to invest directly in West Berkshire Council to fund green energy projects.
West Berkshire Council is looking to raise £1 million to build new rooftop solar power at several council-owned sites which will help deliver on its new Environment Strategy to make the district carbon neutral by 2030 – twenty years ahead of the government target.

CMIs are a brand new lower risk way to invest with Abundance; the result of four years of research and development. We believe that these new investments can really supercharge the green economy, and help us take the real action we need today to build the resilient, sustainable communities we need for tomorrow. There is a lot of talk across the political spectrum about the need to build back greener following the pandemic; CMIs are the direct, tangible investments that can deliver the projects that will actually make that happen. We hope you will join us in backing this exciting new innovation.

Coastalwatch

Coastalwatch said:

With a drop in FTSE this week from 6157.41 to 6095.3, approx 1% it was a credit to the ISA team to reduce our loss to 0.13% so now 100.1% of original investment.

On the other hand our Green Energy Storage Fund rose steadily throughout to close on 111%. It would appear that storage is attracting a lot of interest currently.

On the other hand the National grid shares fell for the second week running closing at 871 from a previous high of 996. Maybe not actually Green or renewable, but without, both would be scuppered!

A strong finish to the week saw FTSE close on 6290.3 so a rise of almost 200 points.

Afraid I can't confirm the closing price of our ISA due to web maintenance but last time I looked it was listed as being at 101% so had gained almost 1% over the week, but it may be a tad higher.

In contrast our Green Energy Storage Fund went berserk, in Utility investment terms at least, gaining 5% closing at 116% and leading the professionally run ISA by a whopping 15%.

NG shares rose also closing on 891. Looks like I've missed out on acquiring some of those at the best price!

JKenH

Coastalwatch said:

Coastalwatch said:

With a drop in FTSE this week from 6157.41 to 6095.3, approx 1% it was a credit to the ISA team to reduce our loss to 0.13% so now 100.1% of original investment.

On the other hand our Green Energy Storage Fund rose steadily throughout to close on 111%. It would appear that storage is attracting a lot of interest currently.

On the other hand the National grid shares fell for the second week running closing at 871 from a previous high of 996. Maybe not actually Green or renewable, but without, both would be scuppered!

A strong finish to the week saw FTSE close on 6290.3 so a rise of almost 200 points.

Afraid I can't confirm the closing price of our ISA due to web maintenance but last time I looked it was listed as being at 101% so had gained almost 1% over the week, but it may be a tad higher.

In contrast our Green Energy Storage Fund went berserk, in Utility investment terms at least, gaining 5% closing at 116% and leading the professionally run ISA by a whopping 15%.

NG shares rose also closing on 891. Looks like I've missed out on acquiring some of those at the best price!

Yes, it’s been a good week. My Orsted shares are up 20% since I bought them a month ago. I was quite lucky with National Grid having sold all mine at 975 I was able to pick some more up at 849. I even bought some for my wife’s ISA. I wish things always went that well - they usually don’t.