Solar or ripple wind farm

Coastalwatch

Unfortunately Nick, there can only be one person named on the investment so it's unlikely it could be split.

As we are limited to no more than 120% of our domestic consumption then I feel it would be rather harsh for HMRC to decide it should be taxed when a precedent associated with renewable energy generation already exists with no taxation applied.

On the other hand I would find it more difficult to argue against a tax being imposed commencing say beyond that of the 120% level. As the government is now considering renewable energy generation to be an important security issue of the utmost concern then perhaps it might be seen from a different perspective!

Exiled_Tyke

The £1,000 limit really shouldn't be an issue for most people.  Rates being what they are currently you'd probably need something in the region of £100,000 in non ISA bank accounts to use up your limit.  The Ripple returns should be a lot better than this but still shouldn't pose a problem.   If you take an investment of £2,000 (which should include most investors) and the P50 central return of 4.9%.  Then this would use up £98 of your annual interest allowance.  

Coastalwatch

Exiled_Tyke said:

The £1,000 limit really shouldn't be an issue for most people.  Rates being what they are currently you'd probably need something in the region of £100,000 in non ISA bank accounts to use up your limit.  The Ripple returns should be a lot better than this but still shouldn't pose a problem.   If you take an investment of £2,000 (which should include most investors) and the P50 central return of 4.9%.  Then this would use up £98 of your annual interest allowance.  

Thanks ET for laying that out so plainly. Put like that it would seem to show that us mere mortals have little to worry about in that respect!

Exiled_Tyke

Coastalwatch said:

Exiled_Tyke said:

The £1,000 limit really shouldn't be an issue for most people.  Rates being what they are currently you'd probably need something in the region of £100,000 in non ISA bank accounts to use up your limit.  The Ripple returns should be a lot better than this but still shouldn't pose a problem.   If you take an investment of £2,000 (which should include most investors) and the P50 central return of 4.9%.  Then this would use up £98 of your annual interest allowance.  

Thanks ET for laying that out so plainly. Put like that it would seem to show that us mere mortals have little to worry about in that respect!

Thanks for the thanks.  And yes.  If we had that kind of money we probably wouldn't be worrying about 'little projects' like this. 

haversonk

I was one of the original investors with Ripple Energy, so a proud owner of the Graig Fatha wind turbine in Wales. I invested   £1089 and so far received a discount on my electricity bill of £98 for 9 months. I make that   £130 for the whole year, so not bad. This means 8 years to get my money back and a life expectancy of 25 years for the turbine. 
Ripple have just announced the new discount for next year, based on the huge increase in the price of electricity. So next year I expect to get £360. 
But apart from this, I have the satisfaction of knowing that I have directly helped to increase the renewable energy generation in the UK.

Screwdriva

QrizB said:

It's all a bit swings and roundabouts.

• Solar - you own it, you maintain it, you manage it. You need a suitable roof/garden/whatever. You can switch suppliers freely but you can't move home with it. You can use it as part of a larger system (with batteries, solar diverters, smart EV chagers etc). With some additional expenditure you can use it to keep the juice flowing during a power cut.
  
• Ripple - you own a share but it's hands-off, as it's managed and maintained for you. You're limited in your choice of supplier but can take it with you when you move. You can have it even if you live in a flat.

If you can afford it, have both - they're complementary.

Agree with everything QrizB shared but would add that solar powered homes are commanding higher resale value and are easier to rent. So if you had to pick one, given the under-representation of solar in the UK's energy mix and likely your neck of the woods, go rooftop PV. If you can spare the £, get both.