Ripple Energy wind farm?

JKenH

paulbds said:

I'm still waiting a couple of hours before I commit - deadline is midnight.
really tempted.........

Don’t let me put you off. The only reasons I’m not in are 

a) the tax position 
b) I’m unlikely to be around when the investment expires and having been the executor of several wills it’s another loose end I wouldn’t wish on anyone. 

Miss.Twizz

I am so so tempted. I am just put off by limiting the energy companies I can go with to the ones working with ripple. In normal times (before the current energy mess) I would fix for several hundreds of pounds less than some of the large company tarrifs. I'm worried that being unable to switch around, could mean that the tariff I have to have could be X amount more than the cheapest, thus cancelling out much of my "savings". It feels it could be a bit pointless if the savings from ripple on one of the few tarrifs I can have, ultimately isn't any cheaper than the cheapest tariff available on the open market 🤔

QrizB

Miss.Twizz said:

I am so so tempted..... It feels it could be a bit pointless if the savings from ripple on one of the few tarrifs I can have, ultimately isn't any cheaper than the cheapest tariff available on the open market 🤔

While I wouldn't want to make any forecasts for 25 years, that seems unlikely. The Beforetimes seem a lifetime ago but it's really only 18 months since the Ofgem cap was £1043. I seem to recall that back then we were generally looking at a spread of 2-3p/kWh between the cheapest fixes and the Ofgem cap. The Ripple payments should cover this difference.

Exiled_Tyke

JKenH said:

Coastalwatch said:

And the Resident Troll just keeps on giving!

Now that’s not very kind @Coastalwatch. I may not agree with you on much but I have always respected your commitment to the cause. So what is it in particular I said that has suddenly prompted this? Is it that I quoted a paragraph from the customer agreement or is it that although I said Ripple is a good investment I explained why it wasn’t for me? 

Patience can only go so far. I don't think it's any specific comment you've made it's just that some of want to use these boards to share and talk about interesting  RE news and others would rather have a debate about  RE v's fossil which is not what we are here for. 

Exiled_Tyke

Miss.Twizz said:

I am so so tempted. I am just put off by limiting the energy companies I can go with to the ones working with ripple. In normal times (before the current energy mess) I would fix for several hundreds of pounds less than some of the large company tarrifs. I'm worried that being unable to switch around, could mean that the tariff I have to have could be X amount more than the cheapest, thus cancelling out much of my "savings". It feels it could be a bit pointless if the savings from ripple on one of the few tarrifs I can have, ultimately isn't any cheaper than the cheapest tariff available on the open market 🤔

We all have to use our own judgement and then we make our own choices.  I can respect any view on this. For me there's a couple of issues: 

1. I can't see any energy provider beating the cap for the time being. The cap was introduced to reduce exploitation of customers not savy enough to fix. Now it's producing losses for distributors and energy companies are unlikely to offer better deals for a while.  
2. And for me most importantly. It's not about being able to look back in a few years' time and gloat and say, didn't I do well with that one. It's about giving me a little more certainty: creating my own semi-fix in a way. So if energy prices continue to stay where they are or rise then I've hedged against it.  It the come down then fine, I kind of locked in at a price I can afford whilst investing in RE which is a good thing. 

ey143

I'm late coming to this party, but am contemplating whether I should put in a few k, but me working in the finance field, the return on a £5,238 investment of £381 p.a. (not factoring in new savings at current price levels) doesn't really seem all that appealing for the amount of time and effort you have to keep tracking this over a 25Y period.  As others have said, there is more hassle in executors of an estate having one more thing to deal with.

As technology gets better (and apologies if this has been covered before, the thread is just too long to read), I would not be surprised if Ripple also come out with new wave technology or offshore wind farms which will probably generate even more savings and economies of scale.  

I might just invest a little to "keep connected" and follow the journey of this investment / company, but the returns are not that enticing and if you're doing it for the green credentials then go for it.  A lot of things change over 25Y, I would be surprised if we end up getting the returns suggested.  The other comments here about being tied to one or few suppliers is another key issue too.  You may well get suppliers who come out with price competitive tariffs which make the Octopus one not as appealing yet we will be stuck on those.

arghh, I dunno.  I have 55 min left to decide what to do.  Invest 6k for some £250 return p.a., possible higher if rates stay at this level.

paulbds

aaarrrggghh....25 minutes left and still thinking about it - some valid points have been raised

paulbds

Well, a quick update - gone for it!! - its only money.
What did you other guys do - will find out tomorrow as I need to go to bed before work tomorrow
Take care

ey143

I'm in for 3000 kw / £1,750 approx.  A third of what I was originally planning to do but that's because I think there will be better opportunities out there in the coming years both in terms of technology to harness more energy from the sea or offshore wind farms but also competitors to Ripple who might try and drive down the cost.  Good luck everyone and see you on the other side!

paulbds

Yes, I did the same. I hope its an interesting ride. I did the same 10+ years ago with Solar PV and not regretted the decision.