Ripple Energy versus Tesla Energy Plan
I've been doing some thinking about how to power an all-electric house and have found two ways to (partially) hedge the high electricity prices. I'm sure plenty of other people have looked at how to offset future price uncertainty
Note that to be perfectly transparent, I've signed up to the Ripple Energy cooperative to the tune of 1516 W, although the PowerWall 2 now looks tempting.
Ripple Energy
- Invest in a cooperative which wants to build a wind turbine (planning to be commissioned in November 2023);
- Money is given back through your electricity bill (you need to switch energy supplier to a Ripple Energy supply partner);
- Return dependent on the performance of the turbine, as well as the value of the electricity generated.
Benefits
- Hedges against electricity increases, provided the value of electricity generated is similar to the value of electricity consumed.
- Be part of the change you want to see, by directly funding the construction of a wind turbine
Disbenefits
- Does not hedge against non-wholesale cost of electricity (e.g. distribution). Increased UK wind-farm capacity may cause the value of electricity generated by wind to fall (unless this is supported by government policy);
- Choice of energy supplier is very restricted once the wind farm has been built;
- Hand over money now and see the benefits in 19 months;
- The cooperative was only partly funded by the end of March, which may result in reduced return due to having to use debt to finance the project;
- The cooperative disbands 25 years after the wind turbine starts generating, leaving you with nothing;
- The tax arrangements for returned money is somewhat involved, and the membership arrangements are not very flexible, which is understandable given this is a large piece of kit.
Tesla Energy Plan
- Requires a Tesla Powerwall 2 and solar panels;
- Sign up to the Tesla Energy Plan and hand over control of the battery to them;
- Symmetrical tariff of ~ 11.24 p/kWh, with a 22 p/day standing charge
Benefits
- Low cost of electricity drawn from the grid;
- High price of electricity sold back to the grid;
- Powerwall can sit outdoors, which simplifies installation in a small home;
Disbenefits
- Powerwall supply delays?;
- Large up-front cost (£9100 for the Powerwall, unless it is installed at the same time as solar power, in which case you get around £1500 of VAT back);
- Tied to one electricity supplier (Octopus, so not all bad);
- How long will these advantageous rates last? Is Tesla making a loss on this offering, or is it doing something clever with the electricity, like propping up the electricity grid when people use the Supercharger stations?
- 10 year warranty of the Powerwall, after which it could have 80% of its capacity (although the Battery Test Centre estimates 79% capacity after 2110 cycles).
@ChickenBig We've invested in the Ripple Energy Kirk Hill project for 3.593kW.
Just this week, the project was fully funded although won't start energy production until November 2023.
So, we'll wait and see how this pans out!
76m² Semi-detached House in North East England
Nissan Leaf 110 kW N-Connecta, 2017 Hyundai IONIQ Premium SE PHEV
Podpoint EV charger
Daikin Altherma 3M ASHP (EDLA04E2V3)
Daikin WLAN Adaptor (BRP069A78)
Daikin 150L Hot Water Tank
Solar iBoost
P1P2 and Home Assistant
SolaX X1 Hybrid Series inverter
2 × SolaX Triple Power 5.8 kWh Batteries
1 × EcoFlow Stream Ultra X 3.8 kWh, 1 × EcoFlow Stream Ultra 1.92 kWh, 2 × EcoFlow Stream AC 1.92 kWh batteries
12 × 365 W solar panels (roof), 1 × 380 W, 1 × 400 W, 1 × 200 W, 2 × 100 W solar panels (garden)
@weoleyric I ended up with just under 2200W of the farm. I wonder the impact of them having to borrow 30% of the funds will be (given rising interest rates); a 2:1 ratio of capital to loans is a pretty safe bet from a lender's perspective, right?
Do you have to pay the full amount upfront or in installments before the farm is up and running?
Get a copy of The Ultimate Guide to Heat Pumps
Subscribe and follow our YouTube channel!
There were two options; either paying everything up-front or paying in instalments. The latter is a bit more expensive as each instalment has an additional admin fee. I went with the lump sum payment option as it cheaper and completes everything required from my side (except moving energy supplier when the farm is commissioned).
I'm not sure when the next wind farm co-op from Ripple will be open for buyers; you can reserve a space for £25 if you don't want to miss out.
Posted by: @chickenbigI'm not sure when the next wind farm co-op from Ripple will be open for buyers; you can reserve a space for £25 if you don't want to miss out.
I think the next project may even be a solar panel farm.
I've reserved my spot (£25) although I'm wondering if because I've already invested in the Wind Farm, that I've reached my maximum allocation in the co-operative.
76m² Semi-detached House in North East England
Nissan Leaf 110 kW N-Connecta, 2017 Hyundai IONIQ Premium SE PHEV
Podpoint EV charger
Daikin Altherma 3M ASHP (EDLA04E2V3)
Daikin WLAN Adaptor (BRP069A78)
Daikin 150L Hot Water Tank
Solar iBoost
P1P2 and Home Assistant
SolaX X1 Hybrid Series inverter
2 × SolaX Triple Power 5.8 kWh Batteries
1 × EcoFlow Stream Ultra X 3.8 kWh, 1 × EcoFlow Stream Ultra 1.92 kWh, 2 × EcoFlow Stream AC 1.92 kWh batteries
12 × 365 W solar panels (roof), 1 × 380 W, 1 × 400 W, 1 × 200 W, 2 × 100 W solar panels (garden)
- 26 Forums
- 2,418 Topics
- 54.8 K Posts
- 394 Online
- 6,098 Members
Join Us!
Worth Watching
Latest Posts
-
RE: Reliable, easy to use home battery options
@batpred We are also in the SE., I would say that 30 - ...
By Toodles , 2 minutes ago
-
RE: Is my Samsung gen6 outside air temp sensor missing a sheath/sleeve?
@papahuhu The sensor (set back in the tube is surrounde...
By Toodles , 15 minutes ago
-
RE: Ideal HP290 14kW ASHP - how to optimise
@ashp-bobba Many thanks for this - I am doing as advise...
By cmartinbwmba , 17 minutes ago
-
I continue to receive emails from homeowners sharing he...
By Mars , 24 minutes ago
-
RE: Water outage in the the south-east
We think alike @editor ! All those bottles (and I expec...
By Toodles , 26 minutes ago
-
Perhaps I am just a fuss pot - but I am curious too!
With all the talk in the past about reducing ‘distortio...
By Toodles , 1 hour ago
-
RE: Recommended home battery inverters + regulatory matters - help requested
One more earthing question occurs to me. If, as now se...
By JamesPa , 2 hours ago
-
RE: Daikin Wireless Thermostat
@bash We have a Daikin EDLA08 Monobloc standing by our ...
By Toodles , 2 hours ago
-
RE: Installer Fitted 9kW Instead of 11kW Heat Pump and Changed MCS Paperwork - What do I do?
Thats great thanks. TBH setting the low end o...
By JamesPa , 2 hours ago
-
RE: Say hello and introduce yourself
@mrfield, welcome to the forums. Please go here and ...
By Mars , 3 hours ago
-
RE: Ecodan Pump Issues… Circulation pump turns off when heat pump compressor turns off
@ashp-bobba Thanks for the reply. Would it not work ...
By Patch321 , 3 hours ago
-
RE: Octopus Cosy Heat Pump Owners & Discussion Thread
I did not hear back from the tech team. (Assume they ar...
By swwils , 4 hours ago
-
RE: How to use my Hanchu battery storage for home without it feeding back into the grid?
Hi. My Hanchu battery system is controlled by the (Lux...
By SKD , 6 hours ago
-
RE: Advice for a novice on Mitsubishi Ecodan 6kW
In the Home Assistant firmware the data points...
By F1p , 18 hours ago
-
RE: GSHP WOES! Midland based engineer recommendations?
@johnbroome if it is not the pressure in the expansion ...
By ASHP-BOBBA , 18 hours ago
-
So I hear the export MPAN that UKPN assigned should be ...
By Batpred , 21 hours ago
-
RE: New Daikin 11kW Altherma 3M install - is it working as it should?
@toodles Thank you for your input. As the days have got...
By Synthbuilder , 1 day ago
-
RE: Fan unit Making terrible noise HELP!!
@gutoffowc Oh no, sorry to hear that, are you in the Ke...
By ASHP-BOBBA , 1 day ago
-
RE: Sunsynk Whole House Backup Issue
@sheriff-fatman - could you please re-post that in the ...
By Transparent , 1 day ago



