Greencoat UK šŸ’Ø - UKW

I heard this also last night on YouTube. For a YouTuber called Mahyar Tousi.

Supposedly thereā€™s a big election coming up and many think Boris said it to appease right with voters.

This was an article yesterday - but I suppose we shanā€™t know until Thursday when the energy strategy is published:

Johnson will drop wind farms in favour of more nuclear power stations

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(@louiseDJ @Julia68 see my thoughts here to your concerns :point_down:)

The government arenā€™t going to ban wind. Investment in nuclear isnā€™t a mutually exclusive choice.

Not saying I dislike Mahyar Tousi, but he does have a flare for the dramatic. He often leaves out other relevant information. Note he cut off a lot of the conversation that Grant Shapps had. He never called for wind to be cut, he just doesnā€™t think on shore wind should be expanded much more than what planning permission allows. putting a focus on off shore wind, solar, and nuclear. full context of the interview is here Grant Shapps MP: No support for more onshore wind power - YouTube (I had to go hunting, Tousi never provided sources), he also never said they were unsustainable or ugly, etc., those were tousiā€™s words though youā€™d think he was quoting.

The UKs energy needs are only going to increase though. and weā€™ll requires a number of energy producing sources, relying on one type alone wonā€™t work. Increased use of nuclear power is basically expected and needed for the UKs power generation going forward.

in terms of the UK weā€™re well placed for large amounts of off shore wind, but that doesnā€™t exclude on shore wind either.

FES 2021 gives an example potential scenario of energy production for 2050 compared to 2020

2050

In terms of UKW, their current investments are focused on on shore and off shore wind. predominantly on shore at the moment with 67% of UKW assets being on shore wind farms, and 33% being in off shore wind farms. Iā€™d very much expect that theyā€™ll be looking to acquire more off shore wind at the right prices

Recent off shore wind investments has been the Burbo Bank Extension. there are also further upcoming investment in more onshore sites over the next year.

FES makes an interesting read, you can read more here Future Energy Scenarios 2022 | National Grid ESO

and UKWs Feb 2022 results you can read here https://www.greencoat-ukwind.com/investors/report-and-publications/2022

This includes details of investments, and future investments.

(my personal consensus is thereā€™s huge opportunities for investment into wind, especially off shore)

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The usual UK media outlets were touching on it recently. I realise they both dramatise and misquote frequently but I wondered what peoples opinions of these reports might be and could they influence the market as such.

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The Tory comments on not supporting new onshore wind in the UK are not new policies but confirmation of the current planning regs.

New nuclear largely replaces existing/retired nuclear plants (if it ever gets built) and provides non-gas base load generation. Not really in competition with wind or most renewables.

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I donā€™t think the individual seeing these reports will influence any renewables investments much.

To play devils advocate for UKW thereā€™s a point where theyā€™ll have to put a lot more focus on off shore wind. At the moment a lot of their investments are in on shore. And thereā€™s plenty more room, they neither own all on shore wind nor has the capacity to build more been exhausted.

They have noted in their report that theyā€™ve been out bid in the past. As I understand I believe part of this is to do with their agreements on how they will invest. You need to be careful you donā€™t overpay for a site.

So, I do wonder if the off shore wind industry is both highly competitive and possibly only going to get more competitive.

It wouldnā€™t surprise me if UKW look to raise further funds in the future to get more off shore sites (thatā€™s not based on any information, just my thoughts)

I love the thought of investing in UK wind power as it will be big business but the ongoing charge of 0.91% for this investment trust is just far too high for me - it will eat into your gains

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0.91% isnā€™t necessarily high in the grand scheme of things. Though obviously not as low as a passive tracker. It very much depends on the type of investment youā€™re looking to invest in. ITs are generally actively managed due to the nature of their structure and what they invest in.

Iā€™ve noticed that renewable focused infrastructure tends to have slightly higher management fees generally.

My personal opinion, if its over 1% for an infrastructure trust id be questioning it more, but under 1% isnā€™t uncommon.

if you look at a few examples.

  • TRIG is a popular renewable IT with an ongoing fee of 0.93%
  • GSF who invest in storage has an ongoing fee of 2.74%, really quite high, they also have a performance fee
  • ORIT another somewhat popular one has an ongoing fee of 1.15%.
  • EGL 1.44%
  • USFP solar trust 1.49% and a 1% annual management charge
  • HGEN (hydrogen investments) with an ongoing fee of 1.32%

If you have some suggestions for wind based trusts with lower fees I imagine people would be interested

Yes I guess I should have expanded. In my opinion all of those examples you have provided have high ongoing costs and charges. In my opinions - I am not a financial advisor - none of them will justify the ongoing charges and your money is better off elsewhere either through individual stocks or a low cost index fundā€¦

In general I stay away from investment trusts due to turnover of stocks making up the portfolios, ongoing charges and up-front costs - all will eat into your gains.

Itā€™s a shame because wind will be big business in the UK in years to come, but those charges will compound over time too and I donā€™t think your returns will be better than just sticking your money in a low cost index fund.

@Eden ā€˜The Little book of common sense investingā€™ by John Bogle has 3 short chapters that will explain this way better than I can.

The chapters (if interested):

  • Seeking advice to select funds? : look before you leap
  • Focus on the lowest-cost funds : the more the managers take, the less the investors make
  • Profit from the majesty of simplicity : hold index funds that own the entire stock market

Donā€™t necessarily disagree, Iā€™m invested into a low cost index fund as well. Though if life was that simple then freetrade would simply offer a single global index and call it a day.

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I have both UKW and TRIG? What would you do if either of these see some reasonable growth?

Would you feel you missed out?

Do you think the INRG ETF is better, does it have a lower OCF?

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I think wind still has a long and positive future even if they suddenly went full nuclear power (which I doubt) be years before itā€™s up and running

That wonā€™t happen. Nuclear is great for providing stable constant power, itā€™s not necessarily as favourable for variable demand

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That is just Boris bluster. Wind power is the UKs Trump card if you will forgive the terrible pun

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Yeah I expanded on it a bit in a later reply, just a YouTube who cut a minters reply short.

I do expect UKW to invest in more off shore farms, but it does seem like they may have some competition on getting the bids.

And without wishing to get deep into politics, Boris is full of bluster!

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hike in share price today along with AGM results

Result of AGM - 15:41:52 28 Apr 2022 - UKW News article | London Stock Exchange

Net Asset Value, Dividend and 2021 ESG Report - 14:30:02 28 Apr 2022 - UKW News article | London Stock Exchange

UK Wind ESG report 2021-2022 final (2).pdf (greencoat-ukwind.com)

nav-factsheet-mar-2022.pdf (greencoat-ukwind.com)

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