Credit: Good Energy
Renewable electricity supplier teams up with Ripple to offer customers chance to own a share of large-scale wind or solar projects
Renewable electricity supplier Good Energy has today pledged to offer its customers the chance to own a portion of large-scale wind or solar projects, after announcing a partnership with cooperative clean energy developer Ripple Energy.
Ripple offers customers the chance to purchase part of a renewable energy project through a managed co-operative via a one-off payment that makes them owners of a share of a wind or solar farm. The buyer's energy supplier then purchases their share of the resulting electricity from the project and supplies it to the co-owner's home via the grid, resulting in lower energy bills.
Good Energy customers will now be able to buy a portion of one of Ripple's projects and earn credit directly back to their Good Energy account via the electricity the project generates.
The company is today joining Ripple Energy as an anticipated supplier with a plan to launch as a full supplier in the coming weeks. Once live, customers will be offered the chance to buy into Ripple's new projects such as the planned Whitelaw Brae Wind Farm - set to be the largest ever consumer-owned renewable energy site in Britain.
"Good Energy are the specialists in microgeneration - helping hundreds of thousands of customers to generate their own clean power and source it from small-scale renewable generators," said Nigel Pocklington, chief executive of Good Energy. "By working with Ripple we can offer them the chance to own their own portion of a large-scale renewable project and reduce their bills at the same time.
"We have always been big supporters of what Ripple is doing to make cooperative renewable energy ownership simple and accessible, and it's well aligned with our mission to help customers use clean power in their homes and businesses. So we are very excited to be taking this step to work together. It means our tariffs, already acknowledged as among the greenest on the market, can be even greener."
The update comes a matter of weeks after Ripple Energy confirmed the UK's largest 'people-owned' wind farm officially generated power for the first time. Part-owned by over 5,600 people, the Kirk Hill wind farm near Kirkoswald in Ayrshire is made up of eight turbines with the potential to provide clean power to more than 20,000 households and businesses, saving 29,667 tonnes of CO2 emissions a year in the process.
Moreover, in April Ripple revealed British Gas, Ecotricity, EDF, and E.ON Next have become the latest suppliers to offer customers the opportunity to purchase part of a wind farm or solar park through one of its co-operatives - joining existing supply partners Your Co-op Energy - powered by Octopus Energy - and Unify Energy. The expansion saw coverage provided by Ripple partners hit 70 per cent of households in Great Britain.
"Cooperative ownership of renewable energy sites is gaining real momentum in the UK, with Ripple demonstrating the tangible benefits that are accessible to everyone, no matter where they live," said Sarah Merrick, founder and chief executive of Ripple Energy. "Good Energy backing this movement and becoming our latest supply partner further simplifies the process for consumers, making it even easier for people to get involved. Good Energy customers will be able to seamlessly own their own sources of renewable energy without having to switch suppliers.
"Alongside all our supply partners, we continue to empower British consumers to take control of their energy future, contributing to the energy transition while enjoying the financial benefits for themselves," she added. "With this latest collaboration, we're another significant step forward in democratising the renewable energy industry, making it affordable and accessible for all."
In related news, Statkraft, Europe's largest renewable power generator this week signed a fixed-price PPA with green energy firm Boralex for the 106MW Limekiln Wind Farm in the Scottish Highlands. The project, which is currently under construction, is expected to be commissioned by the end of 2024 and generate enough clean energy to power the equivalent of around 100,000 homes.
Moreover, SSE has this week inked a deal with Ortus Energy to develop rooftop solar PV installations for its major business customers across Great Britain. As part of the deal, SSE's customer arm, SSE Energy Solutions, will acquire 13MW of rooftop solar assets that have already been installed across multiple sites owned by six major corporate customers and have an exclusive option to finance up to 130MW of new solar projects at commercial premises over the next three years.
SSE said it would fund the development and installation of solar panels up front, enabling business customers to then pay a fixed rate for the power generated through long-term PPAs. Under the terms of the partnership, developer Ortus Energy will identify and develop the projects.
Finally, Centrica Business Solutions has today revealed it has completed and energised a 1MW solar array at the Wolverhampton home of aerospace and defence manufacturer, Moog Inc.
The project has seen the British Gas owner lease roof space from Moog to install 2,200 solar panels providing the site with 800 MWh of green energy over the next 25 years - around 10 per cent of the site's electricity needs - in a move forecast to slash the firm's on-site CO2 emissions by an estimated 175 tonnes a year.
Keep up to date with all the latest green business news by signing up to the free Daily and Weekly BusinessGreen Newsletters.
