Share a slice of the wind revolution - RIPPLE ENERGY | Subscribe to Fully Charged PLUS

Could shared ownership of a wind farm be the answer to generating your own source of clean power?
We spoke to Sarah Merrick, CEO + Founder of Ripple Energy, to find out how their innovative clean energy ownership platform enables individual households to part-own a large scale wind farm. These wind farms generate green, low cost electricity that is supplied to your home via the grid and energy suppliers with cost savings applied to your bills each month.
Ripple is a clean energy ownership platform. You can reserve a place in Ripples next wind farm at www.rippleenergy.com
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#CleanEnergy #RenewableEnergy #Wind #WindFarm #WindEnergy #Energy #EnergyGeneration #Ripple #RippleEnergy #GreenEnergy #WindTurbine

[@davidchilvers152]

This is fantastic. I have wanted a renewable source for year but my wife won't let me put solar on the roof so this is an excellent alternative

[@johntisbury]

Great update. I invested in the first one and have put a reservation on the second.

[@DrMatthewhannah]

Such a great idea, bottled out of the first one, but have reserved for the second. Can’t wait!

[@Daniel-jm5hd]

I'm in. I spoke with your team at Fully Charged Live but was not sure about the project. Now the first one is ready, I am reassured and wish I had joined earlier.

[@shadeblack]

I reserved a spot in this a while back, Looking forward to how it progresses. I wish there were more projects like this!

[@maesygwartha]

Reservation made here as well, a bit miffed that I couldn’t afford to join first time around…..Those Ripple hoodies do look good!

[@jonathanmelhuish4530]

I had exactly the same idea years ago, I even applied for funding 5 years ago to do a feasibility study (but was rejected). Great to see that somebody is doing it and that it's being successful :)

[@Classic2EV]

What a great idea. I signed up before the end of the video. I installed solar and a Tesla Powerwall a year ago and have a small EV so it will be interesting how this all plays out. My gas boiler is 16 years old so when that dies I will be looking at an air-source heat pumps as well.

[@RippleEnergy]

That's great to hear! Welcome on board!

[@mrbizi5652]

@@RippleEnergy how can folks from US invest as a straight investment?

[@ouethojlkjn]

I am in a very similar situation to you, Solar, Tesla Powerwall, EV and 16+ year old boiler. I was contemplating having an electric boiler installed on the original central heating circuit. I also have immersion hot water option which has an Immersun controller, to scavenge solar energy that would otherwise go back to the grid. I also already have part funded a large solar array (Gawcott Fields) on a similar basis to this Ripple WInd Farm.

[@Classic2EV]

@@ouethojlkjn Joe, Thanks for the reply. If you get good information on sizing, costing and installing an air-source heat pump please let us know.

[@waqasahmed939]

My only issues with air source heat pumps are this _ They look a bit unsightly atm, and they'll hopefully get smaller in time - They use electricity for heating instead of gas. That's great from a climate change pov and if you've got solar PVs where you're generating your own electricity (+ what you're getting from ripple) It isn't however particularly cheap to use electric heating unless you've got some way of generating it yourself, even with current gas prices

[@gudfarfar]

Excellent idea to own a part of a wind farm! I wish we had this in Norway, but windfarms are a bit of a sore thumb in our country. Some people get offended to share the nature with a white monster that constantly are waving at you, lol. Nonsence, of course, but there you are. Some idiots even protest to offshore wind farms, even when you can't see them from the seaside, but oilrigs are okay!

[@greggarrett8619]

Yeah crazy to think, people don't like change, even if it's for the better.

[@foxylady1048]

You still have to pay for ownership of the turbine and then the bill even though the bill is less. That less is the payment to ripple for the windmill. No win win for you.

[@markjones6873]

That's me signed up, just 14 months until its built. I love the concept though.

[@RippleEnergy]

Thanks, that's great to hear!

[@frankjenkins6627]

@@RippleEnergy And me . Very excited.

[@georgegeorgiy3516]

Brilliant, I love it! Shame that we don't have projects as this one, here in France.

[@RippleEnergy]

Thanks, we're hoping to expand into other countries over the next few years, so fingers crossed it won't be too long until we get to France!

[@antwnpowell]

@@RippleEnergy great let us know when you come to France, meanwhile I am telling my son in Essex to sign up.

[@timogronroos4642]

Based on information from company homepage, you get around 25% discount on your bill if you get share that covers your whole consumption. That's because of the taxes and grid fees. In many places you don't have those costs when you have your own solar panels (from that part of the consumption). So in many cases ROI on your own solar panels may be better. Great concept for many though

[@1d2a3d4d5i6o]

An alternative is to go on the stock market, that way your money isn't tied up for years and years. I have bought into power generating companies I have invested in Greencoat UK wind, they give a dividend of around 6% they have 4 dividends a year also you can pick whatever power company you want for your supply. At any time if you've had enough of them you can sell them back on the stock market again also you can change your supplier anytime (if Boris has left any!!) I have also invested in a world wide green power supplier and a solar farm. there are few on the stock market. Some companies are starting to look at Africa for solar farms. I am not a financial advisor.

[@_-martin-_]

You guys should take a look at Denmark's Energy Islands project! Denmark plans to build energy islands in the North and Baltic Sea which will act as an energy hubs for a record amount of huge offshore windmills. It will make Denmark self sustained in energy but also export energy to the rest of Scandinavia and England. It is a game changer!

[@MrGonzonator]

Is this related to the North Sea Wind Power Hub?

[@rogerstarkey5390]

Look at the ownership of that project. (Dogger Bank?) It's not all Denmark! From memory 50% Denmark 35% was SSE(?) UK, Which was sold to EoN (?) So, Germany. 15% Italian. So in essence, it seems the UK government "sold the family silver" AGAIN by selling an asset with HUGE potential profit.....?

[@RippleEnergy]

We are part of the NextGen offshore wind consortium, so in future our customers will be able to part own an offshore wind farm too!

[@davidthornton3346]

What an awesome idea. Will definitely consider investing in this in the near future

[@chargeheadsuk]

Paid, great to be involved in a bit of wind action 💪🌬🌿

[@jeremyrollinson4566]

I'm not completely taken with this for the following reasons but if someone could elaborate: If I buy for example 500kW of generating capacity and this gave me say 2,000 kWh of discounted energy from a "partner" supplier each year, what tariff will this be? Will the discount (suggested iro 25%) be on any tariff within the suppliers portfolio e.g a 2-year fix, economy 7, smart tariff - or will it be a specific one for Ripple owners. If I become more energy independent of the grid via solar, batteries etc and my consumption drops below the 2,000 kwh or virtually disappears where does the discount go as it appears I would lose the benefit. Will my shareholding be something that I can "sell" -either in a market or back to Ripple or pass on to family. Thanks

[@audigex]

I like the basic idea of this You still have to pay VAT, network costs, tax, and supplier costs etc, but you save the 1/3 of the price which is the wholesale energy cost because you're basically supplying your own power to the grid So you know that your power is (indirectly) coming from "your" wind turbine ... essentially self-powering but with the turbine elsewhere Although it's a bit of a pisstake if we have to pay VAT etc on your own power

[@chrisb508]

This is brilliant. I love the idea of alternatives to the local energy company monopolies. I live in the States and we don't have anything like this, but It would be great to "top up" my solar panels with a renewable investment. :-)

[@RippleEnergy]

We're hoping to bring Ripple to the US in future, so maybe one day you'll be able to do just that!

[@chrisb508]

@@RippleEnergy That would be awesome.

[@frejaresund3770]

I have been enjoyed, so thank you for delivering.

[@michaelmcclafferty3346]

What a fascinating and inspiring video! Thanks very much.

[@Alanginger]

Just reserved my share 👍

[@markmitchell9547]

I am all signed up for the second scheme. Very excited. How do I get a Ripple hoodie ???

[@RippleEnergy]

We're looking at some competitions to win a hoodie, watch your dashboard for more!

[@mspalmboy]

Excellent. We need a lot more community owned renewable energy.

[@llambert6951]

This is very ahead of it's time.... exciting.

[@HygienistDentist]

We need this in America!!

[@GuyverGamingTV]

Sounds like a great idea and was interested until she said not available in Northern Ireland. As usual everything has to be more difficult over here. But will keep an eye out on it as it sounds great for the future and when open different sites with varied power collection options it will get very interesting. Great work and another great video.

[@kevinwillis6707]

blame the climate denying dinosaurs in charge, they still think its the 18th century...

[@amsterdamlocal7122]

@Ripple Energy, if I understood you correctly, every time you receive an electricity bill, the amount of kWh’s that your part of the wind farm produced times the market value of a kWh minus the operating costs are deducted from your bill. So, it doesn’t matter if you used the majority of the kWh’s during a period that the wind farm produced only a little (as long as within the same period it also generated a lot). You also planned to enable customers to optimize their use of kWh’s during the period that it is cheap. Am I correct in understanding that this would effect only the amount that they owe their electricity provider and that Ripple still deducts the amount with the formula described above (so does not take into account within a period when the kWh’s were used)?

[@crispynoges]

WATCH OUT - This is not something I'd describe as an investment. Their website is sparse in detail but I've got the following from emails. They will "withdraw 5% of the original shares each year, so after 5 years you'd have 75% of your share capital left" - ie 20 years your investment has zero value. "we express ownership in watts as that is constant." Also you can only be paid via a partner energy company and I question if it is sensible to commit to say Octopus Energy as my supplier for 20 years. They are good now but ...

[@RippleEnergy]

The co-op aims to repay 5% of your initial share capital each year, as part of your savings. This is to keep the share capital of the co-op in line with the actual value of the wind farm. A 10 year old wind farm isn't as valuable as a brand new one. If you bought 1000 watts of the wind farm on day 1, you still own 1000 watts, and get the generation from your 1000 watts throughout the wind farm's 25 year lifetime. It is just if you withdrew your membership after 10 years, you would only get 50% of your initial share capital back, as 50% would have been repaid already. Also Ripple is not an investment vehicle. It is a way for people to collectively access low cost, green electricity. We cap ownership at the equivalent of 120% of your consumption.

[@leooconnor1820]

I think there is another step further to take. I’m in the US and would love to buy some fractional share and have Ripple sell the electricity for as much as they can and send me my share of they proceeds. You can still have a 14 year pay back but my $1,800 means they’d send me $10 which I could use to offset the price of my utility bill here, whoever that may be with. And that is for the small single turbine so the payback gets better as you scale.

[@mentality-monster]

I like the idea, but why not just allow us to buy shares in the co-op that owns the turbine and then share the profits? It seems a bit convoluted to have to have use a specific small sample of energy suppliers, for what is basically the 25 year life of the turbine, in order to be able to get the benefit from the money invested.

[@craigrogers7344]

This isn’t a money making / money losing share scheme. This is about supplying your home and reducing yours electricity bill by using your ‘own’ green energy.

[@That1ufo]

@@craigrogers7344 You would still own that green energy, just like carbon credits, The must be a simpler way to do it without locking you to 2 providers for 25 years, and i think i would prefer a 24hr price.

[@craigrogers7344]

@@That1ufo no one said you are locked into Octopus. The members can bring any supplier in as they wish is Octopus are not looking after their customers.

[@RippleEnergy]

There are lots of schemes where you can own a wind farm for an annual dividend. What's unique about Ripple is it creates an ownership link between your wind farm and your bill/supply. Ripple is a way for people to co-operatively own a wind farm to benefit from the green, low cot electricity it generates. Our members love the link to their own electricity bill.

[@jonathanmelhuish4530]

@@RippleEnergy Absolutely agree, it might be financially equivalent but psychologically, being able to see what "your" wind turbine is generating must be much more rewarding. Just like how engaging it is to see how much the solar panels on your roof are putting out. I guess it's much more difficult for those who don't have any experience with their own renewables to know how that feels.

[@donaldduck5731]

Brilliant idea 1. How does this work out with VAT if you own the power supply? Presumably you don't pay it? 2. Would it be possible to invest more money and make a profit with future expansion of the scheme? 3. Is there a way to tie wind turbine ownership with your house deeds and add the investment to a mortgage. This could attract a massive uptake and investment

[@RippleEnergy]

Jon thanks for the questions. I'll answer them in turn. Your savings are post-VAT. We limit ownership to the amount of the wind farm that would generate 120% of the electricity you use, so you can't get your bill to zero or make a profit as such. The member of the co-op needs to be a natural person, it can't be a property, so it's not possible to tie it to your house. Others have asked too though.

[@lukepeacham9663]

How can we get the bills to zero if we are achieving 120% of what we use?

[@damdog11]

So if I buy enough of the wind farm to cover all my usage why do I only get a 25% discount where does the other 75% go certain amount to maintenance but than can only be about 10 or 15 %

[@craigrogers7344]

Because this only covers wholesale prices which makes up 30% of your bill at the moment. The rest of your bill is made up of network charges, environmental and social levies, operating costs and VAT

[@damdog11]

@@craigrogers7344 I see thanks for that not sure why that was not explained in the video like that.

[@Jaw0lf]

Reservation made here as well, thanks for sharing, as needed another add on to the solar and powerwall!

[@dcross3514]

If you join will the payments be made to your energy account or only the electricity element of the account. Also, will membership be available regardless of your current energy supplier? Thanks

[@pierhead12345]

Can't understand it. I'll have to watch a couple more times. My thinking before seeing this was get a battery or some form of heat storage and charge them when energy is cheapest on a tariff like Octopus Agile. How would investing in Ripple affect this as a strategy?

[@RippleEnergy]

Wind farm ownership can work really well with Agile. You get all the savings from your wind farm, plus all the savings from Agile.

[@bryanlewens2068]

I have also reserved my spot with this project. We have PVs which serve us well during the summer although we are having to make some changes with storage to utilise more of what we generate. I looked at the possibility of a small turbine to fill the winter gap but clearly scale matters so a project like this should be a far more cost effective option. My understanding is that for older properties with poor EPC ratings and using oil as our heat source (no gas) using renewable power such as this makes no difference. Having gas rather than oil does make a difference. Am I correct and are any steps being taken to review the EPC system?

[@ClintSimonsen]

What a great idea, Hope this expands to Australia too.

[@meikala2114]

Hepburn wind did this a decade ago in Vic. but is more co ~op local community based. (Daylesford)

[@edenviews]

great idea!

[@lukepeacham9663]

Can this enable us to go commodity grid and no electricity bills

[@markparker5585]

I almost did invest the first time, but at the time, with the figures available, it just seemed like too long a ROI at my age. If I had been 10 years younger, then would have gone for it without hesitation.

[@morrisonmeister]

I may have misunderstood, is the investment spread over ever turbine that Ripple install or just the one individual turbine? I hope the money you save is based off the collection of all turbines, as just my luck I would pick the one turbine in the least windy location & the one that breaks down the most often...!

[@RippleEnergy]

Our first wind farm was a single turbine, the next one will be multiple turbines. You own a bit of a whole wind farm, not individual turbines within the project. You can own shares in multiple wind farms too and get the savings from all of them applied as a single line on your bill (you'll be able to see the breakdown between wind farms on your Ripple dashboard). Kind of a clean energy pick and mix.

[@ianbcnp]

Thank you for the info - I'm in!

[@pmac6584]

I managed to reserve a slot but my sister in law got a Sold out message when trying to use my referral link

[@RippleEnergy]

Let us take a look, sounds like the referral link is pointing to our last wind farm not reservations for the new one

[@That1ufo]

@@RippleEnergy 900 people raised the 4m? for the first project is the new project just a single turbine again ? have you got a site too keep adding?

[@RippleEnergy]

@@That1ufo The new wind farm is multiple turbines, not a single stick. We expect our sites will each be separate, rather than having a site that we add more turbines to.

[@RippleEnergy]

The sold out message is about our first wind farm, you can reserve a place in the second one at the moment

[@nickhenstock6870]

I think the idea is great but there is no information about what happens to the wind farm at the end of the 20 years, I think anyone in the co-op owns it and if so they will be liable for it at the end of its economical life - how much does to cost to maintain therafter or to demolish in the case that it can no longer be maintained? Is there a limit on the planning permission associated with the wind farm - so does it have to be removed after 20 years? Any of this could easily wipe out all the money that has been saved over the whole life of your ownership - I have asked Ripple the question and will wait for an answer before deciding whether or not to invest - in the meantime I will carry on buying Octopus' greenest tariff.

[@RippleEnergy]

Nick - we expect the wind farm to operate for 25 years. Towards the end of the wind farm's life the co-op members decide what they want to do, their options are to 1. decommission the turbines, 2. refurbish them to extend their lives, or 3. seek new planning permission to put new, larger turbines up. If the co-op decided to decommission the turbines, a decommissioning fund would be built up over a number of years to pay for the decommissioning costs (minus the scrap value of the turbine). You would not need to put in any additional funds to pay for the decommissioning.

[@hobbst14]

@@RippleEnergy does that mean if they decide to refurbish it the turbines would continue to serve us for the future as we would own shares in them?

[@RippleEnergy]

@@hobbst14 Yes, the turbine is yours, if it lasts for 30 or 35 years, however many watts you own at the start, you own for its lifetime and you get the electricity those watts generate.

[@suchdevelopments]

🌞🌞Good morning from Lismore NSW AU🌞🌞 🌏🦘🦘Come to Sydney to Fully Charge LIVE show 29th - 30th Oct 2022🦘🦘🌏

[@EleanorPeterson]

Hi! 🙂 I'm based in the grey, gloomy (windy!) north of England, so I was wondering if your local conditions favour solar rather than wind power generation, or are things about equal?

[@suchdevelopments]

@@EleanorPeterson It suit Solar, Wind and Wave energy. Particular wave energy by #CarnegieCleanEnergy from the Great Australia Bight at least 1.4TerraWatts enough to provide energy for whole 🌏Asia #India #China #Japan #Indonesia #Singapore #Malaysia #Thailand #Cambodia #Philippines #Vietnam #Laos #Myanmar #Bangladesh #Bhutan #Pakistan #Nepal 🌏

[@andymacleod2365]

Where in Scotland is this second wind farm/ How many Turbines? is it a share of the windfarm or turbine?

[@RippleEnergy]

Andy we can't disclose just yet where the wind farm is, or how big it is. But it's multiple wind turbines.

[@robertsieler2779]

Would be nice to learn more about similar schemes across Europe.

[@RippleEnergy]

We're not aware of any similar schemes in Europe (yet - we're planning to expand soon tho!)

[@FFVoyager]

​ @Ripple Energy love your idea but the energy market is clearly not the most stable at the moment so what happens if Co-op Energy goes under?

[@jonathanmelhuish4530]

Presumably you can switch to any of their partners.

[@craigrogers7344]

Co-op Energy is Octopus Energy and that’s very unlikely to happen but it’s the members that own the turbine, not The Co-Operative

[@The14roscoe]

I wonder if installing an electric combi boiler and buying a big enough share to cover the use would be cheaper than buying an air source heat pump and hot water tank (plus all the work). Anyone any ideas??

[@craigrogers7344]

No. As the saying goes “insulate but you generate!” but an ASHP pump will be 300-400 efficient whereas a combo boiler is only 100% efficient. The wind farm savings wouldn’t cover this discrepancy with savings of 30% on your bill

[@The14roscoe]

@@craigrogers7344 I'm factoring in the cost of the unit and insulation tho. Are they not around the £10,000 mark? I'm sure I seen an electric combi for under £1000

[@craigrogers7344]

@@The14roscoe Your better off spending your money on insulation before anything else, even with a gas boiler

[@The14roscoe]

@@craigrogers7344 im very lucky, the person who had my house before me heavily insulated it and fitted solar panels (I even have the original fit rate). But....they also fitted a gas combi boiler. Getting rid of it is the last thing to do. If only they had kept the old storage heaters. Switching to an ashp just seems so much upheaval. Swaping the boiler would be so easy. Would make my house harder to sell in future tho. Alot to weigh up. Its not easy being green.

[@craigrogers7344]

@@The14roscoe Did you watch Dan’s energy series? There might be better options if you have the space but an ASHP just makes more sense to me with something like a Sunamp battery or Mixergy Tank for hot water

[@paulkent7400]

Mine is a simple question about the governance of the co-op. presumably there is some kind of democratically elected board and if so is it 1 member one vote or one share one vote?

[@RippleEnergy]

Yes. it's a one member, one vote co-op. The members elect the board.

[@rngalston]

how you get that wind turbine in the studio! lol (nice back drop BTW)

[@megawatt6430]

I'm with Good Energy. Do I have to change suppliers to get the payback?

[@craigrogers7344]

Yes you need to be with Octopus Energy

[@RippleEnergy]

At the moment you need to be with Co-op Energy or Octopus Energy. We are bringing more suppliers into our pool over the next few months, I can't say just yet who they will be though.

[@graham-kirby]

@@RippleEnergy I am watching this development with interest, I’m with OVO at the moment which works well for me. Having the ability to move suppliers freely is the only blocker.

[@sjcsystems]

For someone for whom a picture would tell a thousand words, this is crying out for a worked example on screen of how this works. Am I correct in assuming that there is no tax implication on this because the income is going to Octopus and the Co-Op?

[@RippleEnergy]

Part of your bill savings is repayment of share capital. The portion of savings that isn't repayment of share capital would count towards your personal interest allowance. However, we are hoping to get micro-ownership brought in line with micro-generation, in which case there would be no tax implications.

[@craigrogers7344]

Simon I invested £7780.06 for my share of the first Welsh wind turbine. I have acquired 4,491 watts to create 12,001kWh a year (100% of our home usage). The first year Octopus Energy are buying all the energy from the turbine at 8p per kWh so I will be credited approximately £960 in the first year, or roughly £80 per month to my Octopus account.

[@craigrogers7344]

I should note that the cost of my energy has also gone up, so this won’t cover ALL my costs as there are other costs on your electricity bill which include network costs, Environmental costs, Operating costs and VAT. I’m effectively wiping out the Wholesale costs of my electricity by being a part of this cooperative

[@sjcsystems]

@@craigrogers7344 so is that covering all of your consumption and costs with the Agile unit tariff being normally 35p a kWh?

[@craigrogers7344]

@@sjcsystems I’m with Octopus GO, but it doesn’t matter what you use, or how you pay for it. This is a separate credit added to your account. It’s still advisable to behave as you would normally with any tariff which is to look for the best Octopus/Co-op tariff and reduce your costs as normal by shifting your usage to off peak periods. I’m currently looking at home battery storage options to maximum the off peak prices as much as possible.

[@MrJoshuno21]

It’s a great idea. But, in a nutshell, my understanding is the sole benefit is you manage to make your money back over 14 years and then profit. Otherwise, I don’t see this is any better than just signing up to Bulb or Octopus and let them buy and own the wind farm

[@Telcontarnz]

Agree. Its really and simply asset finance with variable returns based on profit rather than the interest rate,

[@MattHawkinsUK]

I think it comes down to being an observer of change or a champion of change. Rather shout at the TV I'm going to put my money on the table and help get more turbines. If I get the money back overtime then great. If I spent £2K on a TV I'd get zero return on it after 10 years. Why not spend £2K on a bit of a windturbine?

[@Telcontarnz]

@@MattHawkinsUK the best thing about it is that you get to invest directly in a specific renewables project. You could however make the same point about returns for any investment vs any consumption.

[@willm5814]

This is brilliant! Wondering when this will be possible in Canada 🇨🇦🤔

[@RippleEnergy]

We're hoping to expand outside the UK soon!

[@MrTommymonk]

I've had a reservation for the second phase but I'm undecided on whether to invest, the return will vary if you speculate that the market cost of electricity is going up or down, it's that forecasting that I've been unsuccessful in researching.

[@That1ufo]

p26 of the 2020 Energy white paper. 201216_BEIS_EWP

[@stephensullivan1011]

How long do you get these savings after you pay for it? Lifetime? 10 years? Life of the windmill???

[@craigrogers7344]

25 years is the typical life of a turbine, but it ‘could’ continue to be refurbished but more money would be required.

[@heathernute943]

Is the shares bought per person, or per household, can my partner and I each buy them?

[@craigrogers7344]

As a household you can only own a maximum of 120%

[@MattHawkinsUK]

Signed up. We need more turbines. Let's get it done!

[@chrisstorey7812]

What happens if the partnering energy company goes bust?

[@craigrogers7344]

If Octopus goes bust then we are all f**ked

[@filzamb]

And when there is no wind? What append?

[@craigrogers7344]

You only get paid for what the turbine generates.

[@meikala2114]

the wind Will blow so long as you never take your mask off

[@MercedesAMGsRULE]

how does it work if you are on a variable rate tariff such as Octopus Go? Is it a no of kWh amount that is knocked off your bill or a financial amount based on what the turbine generates? Also can your bill go negative and actually get paid theoretically? Thanks 🙂

[@mooktakim]

Can this not be a crowd funded investment opportunity? Looking at the savings it's about 7% return. I would love to just invest and not have it connected to my energy bill

[@Joe-lb8qn]

You can invest in windfarm operators and suppliers separately. Thats what I've done. Then you aren't tied in to a few specific electricity suppliers, although as it happens i am with Octopus anyway.

[@mooktakim]

@@Joe-lb8qn is there a way to earn from the electricity generated directly?

[@Joe-lb8qn]

@@mooktakim that's what you are doing when you invest in those companies. You cant separate the price they charge for electricity from the cost of producing it.

[@RobertHawkinsTotalWellness]

Not sure I get the maths on this. If I pay £1,500 upfront & get £5 a month back, it’ll take 25 years to recoup the investment. How does that reduce to 14 years?

[@jimsouthlondon7061]

So Robert please explain why Patrick Moore (not the old astronomer )the former head of Greenpeace and Zion lights the former Spokeswoman of Extinction Rebellion have left their organisations and are furiously lobbying for the construction of more UK Modular Nuclear Reactors .And Robert how much was UK Wind production in last two months.I want a reliable electric car but I also want reliable electricity to power it not just a hopeful weather forecast .

[@craigrogers7344]

Show me the planning and project where is is happening unlike the 10GW of wind being build, 21GW in pre-planning and 18GW in future planning!

[@yt-paolo]

Very cool! Question though: will I still get the same savings in my bills whether I use the generated electricity or not? In other words, will this force me to do things only when the wind is blowing or will I have the freedom to charge my ev whenever I want, and still benefit from the savings in my bills?

[@craigrogers7344]

No it’s a credit which will be added to your electricity account. The more the turbine produces, the more credit is added to your account no matter what you use.

[@yt-paolo]

@@craigrogers7344 that’s great, thanks! It’s kinda like having the wind turbine plus a “virtual battery” (the grid, I guess) that allows you to use the green electricity whenever you need it 😊👍 It’s fantastic!

[@EleanorPeterson]

I'm too poor, scared and stupid to get involved in schemes like this. I've no problem with people who do espouse the 'ya gotta speculate to accumulate' philosophy, but this kind of thing is way out of my league. I'm in the north of England; since 2008 I've used less than 300kWh of electricity per year (three-hundred per year) and have had an annual income of around £800 [eight hundred], so I'm not involved in the shiny new world of investing tens of thousands in renewables and electric vehicles. I genuinely do wish you well with your wind turbines, peeps; some of us, however, are destined to remain poor, scared and stupid! 😁

[@girowinters]

I'm unable to join (live in New Zealand) but it takes just $25 to start. (No pound signs here)

[@algray]

I'd love to see a scheme where the UK government empowers low income households to install their own solar PVs. I was thinking this could be done through a personal loan with the govt, paid back over ten years, from the savings the householder makes on their electricity bill, so they're no poorer on a monthly basis, but at the end of ten years they've paid off their PVs and own the energy savings outright. Not likely to happen under the Tories though, as they want renewable energy to be owned by big corporations, so they can be shareholders and directors of those companies.

[@J-R-H82]

Great idea would be good if it was worth it. Same as home solar you pay for it, power companies buy it cheap sell it back to you at market prices while you make a small saving that takes years to pay back your investment. In this case 13 years before you see any benefit.

[@davidwilkie9551]

Wouldn't an EV Truck be a great dual accompanying attachment for surplus Wind Generation at night, backup battery and transport vehicle, eg Bus for Hire? Everyone has thought of it.

[@mrbizi5652]

Are you thinking of how you can use Ford Lightning truck as battery/EV to grid?

[@ericharrison5724]

I think the pandemic have really thought people the importance of multiple streams of income, unfortunately having a job doesn't mean security

[@lucasanderson1970]

Investing in today is priceless because tomorrow isn't promised, trading Bitcoins,gold, silver and crypto secure a better Tomorrow.

[@monicajones2789]

It's not how much money you keep, but how much money you make, how hard it works for you and how many generations you keep it for.

[@benedictamill7527]

When money realize that's it's in good hands, it wants to stay and multiply in those hands, if you really want to make points out of money you ve got, you have to take it out of your saving account

[@jasontylor2979]

Trading crypto now would be wise but trading without a professional is really bad I tried to trade alone I completely lost a lot of money till I started trading with expert Richard Emerson, that is a nice broker

[@nataliewatson3501]

@@jasontylor2979 I'm happy to see Mr Richard Emerson mentioned here, he is recognized in the society, My colleague recommended him to me after investing £4000 and he has really helped us in times of this bad pandemic crisis

[@FirstDan2000]

Imagine if they did this with a solar farm as well?

[@RippleEnergy]

We're planning on doing solar parks in future too! Watch this space.

[@waqasahmed939]

@@RippleEnergy Could that then mean your electric bills could go into the negative?

[@algray]

You've got your wish!

[@geoffmansfield2668]

What happens when I die; does my daughter (as beneficiary) then get £off her bill?

[@mrbizi5652]

I had assumed it would transfer similar to your other investments to your beneficiaries. But it does beg the question of operationally how its done. Good question

[@robking8108]

Think of that investment for a coal powered generating plant. You would have been laughed out of existence. Also we don't, in the US have a choice of power companies in most places. Example is northern and southern California, north is Pacific Gas and Electric and south is Southern California Edison. There may be smaller companies in other areas, but these are rather large companies, you can purchase stock but there is no connection to your utility bill.

[@RippleEnergy]

We're looking at expanding into parts of the US market in future. As you say, in some parts the market is a lot less open, but we think there are lots of places where it could work

[@timothyvenn4193]

Interesting idea, I am retired and hope to last a lot longer perhaps even 25 years but what happens to my investment in the case of my demise in a shorter time

[@FirstDan2000]

You can leave it to a family member. There is a form to fill in for this on the Ripple dashboard (account)

[@stephensullivan1011]

Boo that this is only available in the UK 😭

[@johnb7644]

So £1500 buys you £5 a month saving ?

[@craigrogers7344]

About £19 a month in the first year

[@johnb7644]

@@craigrogers7344 Hmm, Doesn’t seem so bad then, might be worth looking into 👍

[@craigrogers7344]

@@colincampbell3679 I think you need to stop talking such nonsense and go and do some proper research. The turbine is owned by the members not the Co-op, or Ripple. Ripple are just the managing agent so yes they make money (what company doesn’t) but Octopus Energy buy all the electricity at 8p per kWh and sell it to their customers. This is just the Wholesale cost, and doesn’t include all the other network, environmental levies, operating costs and VAT. As for smart meters they have saved me a fortunate and I have one of, if not the cheapest tariffs on the market through Octopus GO. No one has ever said when you shouldn’t eat, drink or wash your clothes. You just shift your heavy energy usage (EV charging, washing machine, dishwasher, water heater immersion) to a delayed start to come on overnight when costs are a lot cheaper for everyone!

[@The14roscoe]

@@craigrogers7344 in the first year? Will it change?

[@craigrogers7344]

@@The14roscoe It will depend on wholesale market prices. If they go up so will the ripple saving, if it comes down then the savings will be less. At the moment Octopus have agreed in advance to pay 8p per kWh for 12 months.

[@alanbarlow7426]

Why not have 40 or 50 years life with wind turbines.

[@craigrogers7344]

Yes if you throw continuous maintenance at it but within 25 years this technology will be massively out of date and inefficient

[@huwevans2653]

Wonderful idea and i wish you every success. But Please STOP saying that the green energy from your wind farm is supplied to your house. Unless you live near to the farm it is not. If I am wrong, please explain why I am wrong.

[@amwphotos]

The grid is AC so the electrons don't actually go anywhere, so it's pretty much irrelevant where the power is inserted and withdrawn from the grid as the whole grid is connected and balanced nationally.

[@RippleEnergy]

It is impossible to track electrons through the grid. However, your supplier buys your share of the metered generation from the wind farm and supplies electricity to your home. It's a bit like if you put a £10 note in your bank account, then take out £10 from a cash machine. It's still your money, but won't be the same £10.

[@protectiongeek]

@@amwphotos electrons don't move far but **power** does flow, so the physical location of sources relative to the load absolutely IS relevant.. The use of language in this video is ambiguous to say the least; I would venture to suggest that non-technical people could be led to believe that power generated from the wind farm they buy a share in will find its way to their home when that is very unlikely indeed.

[@protectiongeek]

Huw, you're not wrong.

[@amwphotos]

@@protectiongeek I know a lot of people aren't very smart, but they made it pretty clear in the video, if you listened to it, that your electric doesn't come direct from the turbines but is fed onto the grid. Either way, if I pay for green electricity and by virtue of you living closer to the wind farm that energy was actually used by you instead of me, the result is exactly the same, and without that investment a faceless multinational or other shareholder would make the benefit rather than being open to the general public.

[@Ballahooligan1]

Hang on. Why should English consumers get to buy shares in wind farms built in Scotland and Wales when the government they voted for has put an effective ban on land based wind farms in their own country? Can anyone else (who's not English) see the problem here?

[@laurieh]

Im slightly confused at why this is so good. So I need £3000 worth of wind for 5000kwh a year. Savings are £200 a year...it will then take me 15 years to get payback. By that time after 15 years I will have only 10 years (maybe) of 25% cheaper electricity. Yes electricity wholesale will no doubt increase until "cold fusion" comes out and electricity is mega cheap...but the national grid and "other" non electricity costs will 100% go up until national grid seizes to exist. Why not put the money towards your own solar and battery then benefit from much higher savings?

[@laurieh]

@Richard L For 5000kwh Im getting £2700...saving £191/y....£4781 over 25 years? ROI is 14 years as it says on website.

[@laurieh]

@Richard L Something else that is confusing is...if I buy 5000kwh which does whole house for a year, why is it only saving £191/y if my bill is more like £700-800/y. How can the max purchased be 120% of house needs...where does the extra 20% go and how do they know your yearly usage?

[@laurieh]

@Richard L Ah I see

[@alanrobinson2229]

If you don't use the electric,do you get credit?

[@RippleEnergy]

You get all the savings from your generation, regardless of what your consumption is

[@Rubblechops]

I'm with octopus. But one day I may not be. How does that work then?

[@kenibarwick]

You are paid directly from Ripple

[@welshy1812]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZoC5kJefd9mLeZY - She says that they are planning on partnering with more energy companies for the next wind farm.

[@RippleEnergy]

We are bringing on more suppliers to our pool. That means if you wanted to switch away from Octopus at some point in future, provided you stayed within our pool of suppliers your new supplier would get your share of the electricity and your savings would be applied to your bill with your new supplier.

[@Rubblechops]

@@RippleEnergy Thanks. Will work depending on your pool of suppliers. Which is a bit of a question mark. I've reserved a slot bit cold do with some assurances about the risks of your pool dwindles, remembering it's a fairly long payback period.

[@mentality-monster]

@@Rubblechops True, though at the rate energy companies are going under the choices may be fairly limited soon anyway.

[@andymccabe6712]

If I understand correctly then, I pay £25 today to reserve 900W which will cost me £1500(say - but it could be more...) at some point in the future? Then, I wait around 18 months(you hope) for the turbine (s) to be built and start operating? Then, at that point, I start to save a guestimated 25% on whatever my bills are at that time? Is that broadly correct....?!

[@openleadershipchannel5287]

Thats how I see it, yes. For our household, we would make a c. 8% return p.a.,..based on my current usage and contract price. I would therefore recover c. 160% of the investment if the turbine works for 20 years. Not the most exciting investment but I haven't compared it to other renewable energy investment opportunities (in terms of ROI or environmental benefit).

[@steveperrins9482]

@@openleadershipchannel5287 that’s based on todays electricity costs which will only go up one imagines

[@barriedear5990]

@@openleadershipchannel5287 The last round of investment suggested a 4.5 or 4.75% ROI, which, as you allude to, is not great. But for a few thousand to a good cause, is tempting. Would love a wind turbine to complement solar at home, but just not viable.

[@mrbizi5652]

@sarah is there a way for someone in US to invest as well? I’m thinking of a true investment not one where I get monies in savings from UK utility company. Thoughts?

[@algray]

You'd be better investing in stocks and shares in an renewable energy construction or companies which generate renewable electricity (as you'd have more flexibility to choose where you invest).

[@tonywhite5883]

Their website uses cookies, fine. However, there is no option to reject them nor even to review and manage, as the law requires. To engage in their on line chat you need to tell them your email and or phone number. No, this is how scammers work. Avoid them until they get their shit together.