Ripple Energy wind farm?

Coastalwatch

The Ripple website, complete with a fairly comprehensive FAQ section, is open for all to investigate.

For those seeking information not covered there is a chat option open to interrogation for those seeking further clarification.

JKenH

I imagine that the information that interests me would be regarded as commercially sensitive, hence not something Ripple would disclose. It was more of a general enquiry prompted by Ripple’s reference to the PPA so maybe if someone knows just how these things work they would elucidate for my benefit please. 

Given Ripple’s comments (that it doesn’t impact on members) I would like to think it is as simple as the buyer taking 30% of each hours generation at a fixed price with perhaps an adjustment to bring the total volume to the agreed amount at the end of each year. That agreed volume x price would then be sufficient to cover loan interest and scheduled repayments of capital plus 30% of the operating costs. 

GabrielM

When existing investors in the proposed Kirk Hill windfarm were invited to invest more before the offer closed, I tried to do so -- but got a standard message that I'd already reached my maximum investment of 120% of my annual electricity consumption.

There was an option to increase my stated consumption: this probably WILL increase, but I don't know by how much -- maybe by not as much as the 20% already allowed for. So that didn't seem an option either.

The fallback remained to register an interest in further investment, to be fulfilled as & when (& if) existing investors drop out, selling their share of energy generated.

But even a couple of days before the offer closed, there was no mention of any shortfall in funding: after repeated previous assurances that the project was likely to be oversubscribed, so act fast!

Had I known of the shortfall, I would have made far greater effort to interest people in local green etc groups.

I wonder if there will be any opportunity for late personal investors? To reduce the bank loan. I'm sure there would still be people interested who'd not heard about Ripple Energy windfarms, or Kirk Hill.

paul991

it seemed like they wanted you  to increase your consumption figure which I think I should of  done as one day I will have a ev  or
ashp maybe, but there's already another scheme in the pipeline.or cable

GabrielM

Increasing your stated current annual consumption figure (to whatever you guess it might be in future) might have been OK if you were not already an Octopus customer!

Which I am: so it would just have looked liked cheating for me to state a figure bigger than one supplied by Octopus.

So I guess I'll just have to wait.

paul991

i asked the question and they said it didnt matter

Coastalwatch

Graig Fatha's first full month of generation

10/05/2022

The data for the first full month of generation is in. Graig Fatha generated 465MWh.

That's 14% more than expected for April under the P75 estimate - the level your ownership was based on. It's 3% more than the P50 estimate - the highest of the estimates set out in the share offer document. This is despite wind speeds being lower than expected for April.

It is only one month of data and it's important to look at performance over the long term, but it's a very good start!

It's reassuring to have this first full months figure comparing well to the estimates laid out in the share offer document. I have to admit to little, or no knowledge of likely degradation of performance as time passes but a good start as they say.

QrizB

Coastalwatch said:

Graig Fatha's first full month of generation

10/05/2022

The data for the first full month of generation is in. Graig Fatha generated 465MWh.

That's 14% more than expected for April under the P75 estimate - the level your ownership was based on. It's 3% more than the P50 estimate - the highest of the estimates set out in the share offer document. This is despite wind speeds being lower than expected for April.

It is only one month of data and it's important to look at performance over the long term, but it's a very good start!

It's reassuring to have this first full months figure comparing well to the estimates laid out in the share offer document. I have to admit to little, or no knowledge of likely degradation of performance as time passes but a good start as they say.

One month down, 239 to go

Coastalwatch

QrizB said:

One month down, 239 to go

Yeah. Desperately trying not to count my chickens.

You never know with all that bird flu around!

70sbudgie

A PPA is a Power Purchase Agreement. This is a way of selling generated electricity outside of the open electricity market. It has more security for both parties (generator and supplier) as the income rate is agreed in advance for a specified period of time. From what I understand, a PPA is usually based on £/MWhr, with an expected total generation per year. Octopus will have a PPA with Ripple that covers the co-op member's shares of the electricity generated. For the first wind turbine, the rate for the first year's generation appeared to have been agreed in November, which is why it was quite high, but not as high as it would be if it mirrored the current cap. 

I read that Ripple were also trying to come to an agreement with one of the EON companies. I've not heard anything come from that, so my guess is that it is the negotiation of the PPA that has got a bit sticky.

As the interest on financing will be based on an annual figure, eg 4%pa, Ripple will have had to come to some agreement that turns £/MWhr in %pa. I don't think this mechanism will be new, as I believe this is how most renewable generation is normally financed.