Ripple Energy wind farm?

TCA

Exiled_Tyke said:

Are they suggesting that the loan would be taken out on similar terms to the shares?

Who knows. I'm beginning to think they're making it up as they go along.

I believe there's one customer services guy and the fact that one week he says the co-investor has guaranteed to buy any unsold shares, then says he got it wrong, doesn't inspire confidence.

This isn't an organisation of even hundreds of people. It's a small team so you'd think the customer-facing person should have the correct answers. I don't buy the "I've just received new information" line.

I've stuck a few quid into Kirk Hill and was considering more, but thinking I'll now leave it at that.

dharm999

Having read through the whole thread, I am definitely interested in putting some money in, as a hedge against future prices if nothing else.  Our electricity usage is huge, c12000 kwh a year, so to cover that all I am looking at putting in around £7k, a lot of money!  Biggest concern for me is being restricted to who can supply my electricity, and if the tariff I am forced on isn't competitive, even after taking in to account the generating credit.  A lot to think about, and am really in two minds about it.  Will have to think about it in more detail over the weekend and make a decision next week

Exiled_Tyke

dharm999 said:

Having read through the whole thread, I am definitely interested in putting some money in, as a hedge against future prices if nothing else.  Our electricity usage is huge, c12000 kwh a year, so to cover that all I am looking at putting in around £7k, a lot of money!  Biggest concern for me is being restricted to who can supply my electricity, and if the tariff I am forced on isn't competitive, even after taking in to account the generating credit.  A lot to think about, and am really in two minds about it.  Will have to think about it in more detail over the weekend and make a decision next week

Well they sound pretty confident about getting E.on on board. So hopefully there should be some choice of providers fairly soon.    I've had no problems with Octopus over the years. Sometimes not the cheapest but they've never been extortionate.  And if you have/get an EV then there's a good chance you will want to be with Octopus anyway.

Coastalwatch

Don't know if anyone who is taking part in Ripples first wind farm has interrogated their dashboard today! But after a brief online chat, to make sure that the graph being shown actually represented our own personal hourly output figures for the day so far, plus the estimated projected figures for the hours ahead then our return will amount to £1.5732. I've no idea if todays wind speeds are good, bad or just plain average. Checking them out for Cardiff today they vary between 5 & 11 knotts so nothing special I suspect!

Anyway multiplied by 365 returns a figure of £559.10 for the year. If it turns out to be an average day then it would certainly be a handy sum to offset against the recent energy price rises.

Oh also, if correct, suggests an ROI of 4.7 years!

Just thought the figures might be of interest to anyone still trying to come to terms with Ripples offer!

TCA

Coastalwatch said:

Oh also, if correct, suggests an ROI of 4.7 years!

Just thought the figures might be of interest to anyone still trying to come to terms with Ripples offer!

I'm not part of Graig Fatha so no access to the graphs, but presumably they're using the actual 9.5p saving for year 1 based on the agreed wholesale price with Octopus. Whether it'll be that much in future years is anyone's guess. For Kirk Hill they're estimating (in customer dashboards) 6.4p in year 1 (from November 2023).    

paul991

i remember when i  had  solar panels fitted the  number of  people who told me i was wasting my money and they  would never pay,part of the reason i got them is i saw the need for green energy before it was popular. it has now turned out to be the best investment i have  ever made.i have now invested the profits in both these schemes and have although no one knows what  electricity prices will be in a few years i believe they wont  drop anytime soon.it was good  to see the switch on and  light display last night .

Verdigris

I've no idea if todays wind speeds are good, bad or just plain average.

Nationally a bit above average, although that is skewed towards the north, where most turbines are sited. So probabaly about average for Wales. I certainly bodes well.

I wish I'd got in on WT1.

chris+gla

I looked at phase 1 but wasn’t fully convinced. Thinking of going for phase 2, what puts me off is the similarity to timeshare.
Am I wrong, or is the risk is the management/ maintenance fees rise reducing return. And is there a chance the costs become so high more funds could actually be needed- or is the insurance cover adequate.

Very cautious as I did have a few happy years of very happy timeshare holidays before it became very painful financially, I was very lucky to find a route out although this lost the entire investment which was similar to I’d need to put into Ripple…

Verdigris

I think the manufacturer gives a long-term warranty, although I don't know if it is for the full 25 year working life of the turbine. They have insurance for storm damage and the like.

Coastalwatch

chris+gla said:

I looked at phase 1 but wasn’t fully convinced. Thinking of going for phase 2, what puts me off is the similarity to timeshare.
Am I wrong, or is the risk is the management/ maintenance fees rise reducing return. And is there a chance the costs become so high more funds could actually be needed- or is the insurance cover adequate.

Very cautious as I did have a few happy years of very happy timeshare holidays before it became very painful financially, I was very lucky to find a route out although this lost the entire investment which was similar to I’d need to put into Ripple…

Afraid I fail to see the link between timeshare and Ripples offer as all maintaince/fees are planned for and have been taken into account. The Coop's is run by a team of volunteers who receive no salary but are able to claim expenses up to a certain amount to be made transparent at each AGM. The offer clearly states that all likely repairs, downtime etc are either covered by insurance or already catered for, even the decommisioning at the end of life.

Having had a bad(or just expensive) experience with timeshare I can understand your reluctance at the prospect of being caught out on anything similar in future but in this instance I believe your fears are unfounded.

I've invested, not just because it offers a reasonable return, but because it is a clean alternate energy source to further reduce our carbon footprint in the hope it will benefit the generations which follow us. I don't even mind being referred to as a romantic old fool as I feel good inside about investing in a community project which also supports those in the local area suffering from fuel poverty.

FWIW I've also invested in the second windfarm as due to historical wind data the output per Watt purchased is projected to be greater than that of the first.