There are plenty of green energy suppliers out there, and the traditional market leaders are increasingly switching to sustainable sources. But how many operators offer you the chance to own the wind farm that will be producing your electricity?
Ripple is offering consumers the chance to part-own a wind farm, which when operational will supply households via the national grid. It isn’t cheap – it costs £2,106 to join the ownership co-operative based on the estimated electricity use of four people living in a three-bedroom house (the cost varies according to your energy use), so this is not for everyone – but the company claims that customers in this example will see £134 a year in bill savings; that means 16 years for this investment to pay for itself, but of course those signed up will retain their share in the ownership of the farm.
Ripple also points out that this investment is up to 65% cheaper than a typical home outlay on rooftop solar panels, and that wind power generation is virtually carbon-free.
While the farm is being built, those signed up will have their power supplied by a third-party green energy company (which has yet to be announced); the farm itself will also be built by a third-party company, but it will be owned by the co-operative and managed by Ripple.
It’s an interesting prospect, if you can afford the upfront cost…
further reading…
There are plenty of green energy suppliers out there, and the traditional market leaders are increasingly switching to sustainable sources. But how many operators offer you the chance to own the wind farm that will be producing your electricity?
Ripple is offering consumers the chance to part-own a wind farm, which when operational will supply households via the national grid. It isn’t cheap – it costs £2,106 to join the ownership co-operative based on the estimated electricity use of four people living in a three-bedroom house (the cost varies according to your energy use), so this is not for everyone – but the company claims that customers in this example will see £134 a year in bill savings; that means 16 years for this investment to pay for itself, but of course those signed up will retain their share in the ownership of the farm.
Ripple also points out that this investment is up to 65% cheaper than a typical home outlay on rooftop solar panels, and that wind power generation is virtually carbon-free.
While the farm is being built, those signed up will have their power supplied by a third-party green energy company (which has yet to be announced); the farm itself will also be built by a third-party company, but it will be owned by the co-operative and managed by Ripple.
It’s an interesting prospect, if you can afford the upfront cost…