Part ownership of a Ripple Wind Turbine, fancy it?

[Joeboy]

Not sure if folks going for WT2 only get the members update?

It's been a busy couple of months for Ripple. Not only did we hold our first AGM for our Graig Fatha members but we're also thrilled to announce we've completed the foundation work at the Graig Fatha site. We wanted to take this opportunity to update you on a few things.


AGM - cooperative directors nominations deadline 12th November 


At last month's AGM we mentioned that there was an opportunity for our members to put themselves forward for one of the cooperative director's positions. The directors play an important role in the running of the coop, ensuring the activities undertaken are done so in the very best interests of all members.


If you would like to volunteer, please get in touch via info@rippleenergy.com or by replying to this email. We will then provide you with a director's manual to review. If you choose to formally apply, we will require a biography no longer than 250 words about yourself, your suitability and desire for the role as well as an accompanying photo. We must receive this by 17:00 12th November at which time we will close the nominations. As the directors represent all Graig Fatha members we encourage nominations from all backgrounds to ensure the directors are as diverse as our members.


On 15th November we will then notify all Graig Fatha members of the nominations via email and invite everyone to vote. We will provide more details regarding this process at that time.  


Graig Fatha update - the foundation is in!


The foundation work is now complete. This is a massive milestone in the build progress. Ducts have now been placed into the steel frame and layers of concrete added to the foundation prior to the 18 tonne steel ‘can’ being placed inside. The can is secure within the foundation and will have the bottom of the turbine tower bolted onto it once it arrives on site. Last week, BBC Wales visited the site and will run a feature on it soon. We'll post the clips as soon as we have them. Remember, your members' dashboard is the place to go for all the latest news from down at the Graig Fatha site. 

In our last email we flagged that there has been some uncertainty regarding delivery dates of crucial parts due to supply issues, Brexit and Christmas delays. Please rest assured that we are working extremely hard with the various contractors to bring all the workstreams together and complete the build as quickly as possible for our members. We will let you know as soon as we have confirmed the programme in light of these issues.

Help us spread the word! Look out for your invitation to review us on Trustpilot


Over 2,000 new members have so far reserved their shares in our second wind farm. Many have done through recommendations from you, our Graig Fatha members, using your members' "Refer a Friend" links which you can find in your dashboard. We can't thank you enough for helping spread the word about us. 


As we continue to grow, we are always looking for new ways to showcase the views of our members to help others discover the joys of renewable energy ownership.  We have decided to launch ourselves on Trustpilot, the UK's number review site. Over the next week you may receive an email from Trustpilot inviting you to post a review about us using a secure link. Leaving a review takes no more than a few seconds. There is no obligation for you to post a review, but we do hope many of our Graig Fatha members choose to do so to help us achieve a great rating.



All the best,


Team Ripple

[nowty]

Video from Ripple (taken I think last Thursday), shows the foundation fully done and backfilled.

And she says the turbine is coming in a couple of weeks.

[Joeboy]

A nice find Nowty, exciting times!

[nowty]

A nice find Nowty, exciting times!

I re-watched the video and she actually said "we're just waiting for the turbine, the turbine can go up in a couple of weeks".

So maybe the turbine is not actually arriving in a couple of weeks as I indicated.

But still potentially looks on schedule.

[Joeboy]

A nice find Nowty, exciting times!

I re-watched the video and she actually said "we're just waiting for the turbine, the turbine can go up in a couple of weeks".

So maybe the turbine is not actually arriving in a couple of weeks as I indicated.

But still potentially looks on schedule.

TBH, it'll happen when it does, I enjoyed her obvious joy in how far they as a company have come. Must be a palpable relief that the pour went well?

[nowty]

A nice find Nowty, exciting times!

I re-watched the video and she actually said "we're just waiting for the turbine, the turbine can go up in a couple of weeks".

So maybe the turbine is not actually arriving in a couple of weeks as I indicated.

But still potentially looks on schedule.

TBH, it'll happen when it does, I enjoyed her obvious joy in how far they as a company have come. Must be a palpable relief that the pour went well?

Yes she seemed truly hysterically happy.

But squeaky bum time is still to come, I keep watching youtube worlds biggest crane accident videos.
No please stop me, there is some really crazy stuff online.

[AE-NMidlands]

Followed up by a piece on BBC Wales website:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-59236554 Renewable energy: Customer-owned wind turbine to be built

A wind turbine owned by hundreds of people across the UK is being built in Wales.

The 907 owners crowdfunded £2.2m for the turbine, which will start providing them with energy in the new year.

It will be built in Pontyclun, Rhondda Cynon Taf, and will be run by Ripple Energy.

The Welsh government said, if the pilot project was a success, it could allow people to invest to own part of a wind farm in Wales.

Ripple's CEO Sarah Merrick said the model of consumer ownership was "the first pioneering project" in wind that could be replicated across the UK....

Their govt. comment is a bit odd...
A

[Stinsy]

It is a bit strange:

The Welsh government said, if the pilot project was a success, it could allow people to invest to own part of a wind farm in Wales.

No quote marks though so I'm inclined to blame poor reporting. It isn't for the Welsh Government to control what people do or do not own. The Welsh Government has provided cash (in the form of loans, grants, and "backup finance") so I guess what the reporter should have communicated was that the Welsh Government is eager to financially support future projects should this one prove successful.

[Moxi]

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[nowty]

Does anyone have an idea of how many investors they need for the phase two build AND how many they have registered as interested to date?

Moxi

We have some of the answers and we can take an educated guess at things we don't know. WT1 has about 900 members who paid just over £2m, so average investment is about £2,300 per member. The total cost of WT1 is over £4m, but the rest came from the Welsh government and a single investor.

We know WT2 is multiple turbines in Scotland and probably bigger so maybe will cost less per watt, I think Ripple has even mentioned that. So say its two larger turbines, then its likely to be £8m to £10m. So that means they need around 3500 to 4500 investors if done in the same way.

We know 2000+ people have bought a £25 voucher, so that could turn into nearly half way there. Then maybe the Scottish government, not to be outdone by the Welsh might buy in and / or provide debt finance so we might be there already, at least to start the project off.

I guess Ripple are waiting for WT1 to start up as to get the max publicity to launch the second project.