The UK startup Ripple has introduced the country’s first ‘consumer-owned wind facility’ in an effort to empower customers and the energy sector at large. Ripple is collaborating with Co-op Energy and Octopus Energy to draw electricity from the wind farms to consumers’ homes.
The Graig Fatha wind project is located in South Wales and is expected to commence operations in early 2021. Ripple’s founder and CEO Sarah Merrick said in a statement, “The move to a zero-carbon world opens up completely new ways of doing things. You can’t own a bit of a coal or nuclear power station to supply your home with electricity, but you absolutely can own a bit of a wind farm.
Consumers will own part of the Graig Fatha project by purchasing shares in the co-operative. Nearly 45,000 consumers have already registered to acquire shares to partly own the project, media reports said.
It is reported that the electricity generated from the Graig Fatha wind project will not be free. Consumers will have to pay bills including fees for levies, taxes and grid charges. Tom Hoines, Managing Director, Co-op Community Energy, told the media, “The partnership with Ripple is a significant milestone in changing the way in which we power the UK, allowing more people to directly own how their electricity is generated.”
The project will be beneficial to consumers because owing a small part of a large-scale project could be up to 75 percent cheaper than investing in rooftop solar.