Ripple Energy wind farm?

Verdigris

The electricity will still be sold into the wholesale market. I guess they might have to find another way of paying the "dividends".

QrizB

Verdigris said:

I don't even know where they have planned to build it; does anyone know?

Somewhere in Scotland.

OK, but there's quite a lot of Scotland to choose from   I'd hoped they would have found a site and be well on the way to getting planning etc. sorted out by now?

Maybe I'm just not used to the fast-moving world of privately-funded infrastructure projects.

Spies

Why do turbines have a 25 year life span? What happens after that, do the blades just fall off? 

Verdigris

I imagine that is the lifetime the manufacturer gives. I would have thought that many could be "re-lifed" in a similar way that nuclear reactors, and the like, get another stay of execution if things are looking OK.

Things have also changed in that there are robotic systems that can repair erosion on blades, in situ, that again extends their potential life.

barker77

Verdigris said:

The electricity will still be sold into the wholesale market. I guess they might have to find another way of paying the "dividends".

That makes sense a bit - but does that mean that I can go with any supplier then? 

QrizB

barker77 said:

Verdigris said:

The electricity will still be sold into the wholesale market. I guess they might have to find another way of paying the "dividends".

That makes sense a bit - but does that mean that I can go with any supplier then? 

If Ripple have no supplier partners and have to change their model to direct payment of dividends, yes you probably will be allowed to choose any supplier.

However so long as they have partner(s) and keep their current model, you'll have to use one of them or forfeit your returns.

barker77

Has anyone looked into how this might work with octopus go? 

QrizB

Not "looked into" but in that AGM meeting at around 1:06 someone asks if they can use it with go and the answer is yes. (I haven't watched the whole AGM, just that bit.)

Petriix

barker77 said:

Has anyone looked into how this might work with octopus go? 

Yes, Ripple say that's absolutely fine. They just give you a credit on your bill based on your share of the operating profit so it doesn't matter which Octopus tarrif you're on. 

charlescoker

Petriix said:

charlescoker said:

I like to do the maths myself but I can’t see anywhere what the other costs of the electric bill actually are anywhere excluding the hole sale price that Ripple costs at 2p Kw
my electric quotes have doubled in last few weeks all based on the huge spike in wholesale cost 
if one assumes an increase from 17 (10 p other and 7p wholesale cost) to 33 is all wholesale increase and the increase is due to a wholesale increase from around 7p to 23p then should I expect to be paying only 12p per KW going forward 
if this is so then the savings are now significantly higher than originally envisaged shoukd prices remain so inflated

It doesn't work like that. You're just buying part of a wind turbine and collecting an equivalent share of its operating profit as a credit on your bill. The running costs of the turbine (and admin etc) will likely remain fairly static and low, while the electricity generated will sell for whatever the going wholesale price is.

This has no effect on the price you pay for your energy. You still have to pay whatever rate your supplier sets. But your share of the Ripple profits will be credited to your balance and reduce the amount you pay.

That’s really helpful 
currently I’m being offered 24p day 14night on a flexible but 33day on a fixed 12 month
i can’t understand why the flex is less unless that’s the current cap? What is the cap likely to go to in April?  Surely the wholesale price must fall back this year as things get back to normal?  The thing that I see is that the purchase of shares in Wind Farm seems an excellent hedge when I currently use such a large amount of electric 13,000 KW