Blog

Dear Member,

Formal notice of Annual General Meeting – Tuesday 19th August 2025, 7:00pm

We are pleased to formally announce our upcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM) to be held on Tuesday 19th August 2025 starting promptly at 7:00pm. A link will be emailed to you on the day of the AGM to allow you to join our livestream. It will also be published on the member dashboard of our website.

The purpose of the meeting is as follows:

• Vote on the appointment of Francis Clark as auditor for the next set of Co-op and SPV accounts
• Project review, highlights and considerations and plans for the onsite launch with the project partners
• Review of Ripple Administration and future partners of Derril Water Solar Co-op
• Review of Member Payments including Purchase Price Agreement (PPA)
• Answer as many member questions as time permits

If you’d like to ask a question to the Co-op board and have it answered during the AGM, please log in to your member dashboard and navigate to ‘Submit a question for the AGM‘. We’ll collate and de-duplicate these ahead of the AGM and seek to answer as many as possible during the meeting.

Member Update

This update is designed to help you understand both the remaining steps to energise the site and the subsequent milestones required before we can begin distributing member savings. While every effort is being made to keep to this schedule, please note that all timings remain subject to change. The Derril Water Co-op Board continues to work diligently with our partners, holding each accountable to ensure progress, quality, and momentum are maintained.

We will provide further updates on Wednesday 16th July and Wednesday 30th July. These will be short updates to update you on if any of the below dates have been challenged or if the project remains on track based on the timeline below.

Upcoming Project Timeline

June 2025

• WC 30 June: Mechanical works to complete.
• WC 30 June: Meter installations commence.
• WC 30 June: Cold commissioning completes (testing and verifying the site’s electrical and control systems prior to energisation).

July 2025

• WC 7 July: Energisation confirmed with the Distribution Network Operator (DNO).
• WC 21 July: Hot commissioning completes (the site is energised and undergoes full system testing).
• WC 21 July: G99 witnessing (final grid compliance tests).
• WC 21 July: Final Operational Notification issued by DNO.
• WC 28 July: Synchronisation and start of electricity exports to the grid.

August 2025

• 19 August: Derril Water Annual General Meeting (AGM)
• Operational phase begins.
• Ongoing monitoring and resolution of any outstanding commissioning issues.
• Appointment of Managed Services Partner(s) to support long-term operations, member services, account administration, and regulatory filings.

September – December 2025

• Onboarding and transition to the new Managed Services Partner(s).
• Continued operational oversight and performance monitoring.
• Preparation of financial records in advance of audit requirements.
• General Meeting and election process for Co-op board directorship.

January 2026

• Submission of audited Co-op accounts for the year ending 30 June 2025.

February 2026

• First distribution of member savings (see below for further information concerning this).

March 2026

• Submission of SPV accounts to Companies House.

Distribution of Member Savings

As outlined in the original share offer document, a portion of the Derril Water Solar Park was financed through a loan from Virgin Money. Under the terms of this loan:

• Export revenue is first deposited into a restricted “Proceeds Account.”
• After six months of generation has accumulated, the bank deducts amounts due for loan repayments and reserves sufficient for the following six months of operations.
• The remaining funds are then released to the Co-op and can be distributed to members.

This process has been contractually agreed since the loan was arranged and is a standard prudent approach for flows of revenues that will be applied now that Ripple has gone into administration. Given that electricity exports are expected to begin WC 28 July 2025, the first month’s payment will be received at the end of August. This means the first six-month accumulation will conclude by the end of January 2026, allowing member distributions to begin in February 2026.

At this stage, no final decision has been made regarding the method of distribution (via energy bill savings or direct bank transfers). Both options are being actively assessed and we anticipate confirming the preferred approach in the near future.

Thank you for your continued support and patience during this critical phase. We remain focused on delivering a successful project that brings long-term renewable energy benefits to all our members.

All the best,
Derril Water Solar Co-op Board

Dear Member,

We hope this message finds you well. Please take a moment to read this important update covering several key topics.

Ownership, Tax, and Shareholding Clarifications
We understand there have been questions around ownership, taxation, and share trading. Here’s a brief overview:

• Savings (also referred to as bill credits or dividends) come in two parts:
  • The 3% share capital repayment, which is non-taxable.
  • The trading benefit, which is treated as taxable interest income for most UK taxpayers.
• The tax position of your savings is unaffected by how you receive them (whether as a bill saving payment or as a direct payment to your bank account).
• Full details of the tax treatment can be found in Appendix 5 of the Share Offer Document, which is available on the new website in the “Documents” section of your member dashboard.
• For most members, the trading benefit will fall within their personal savings allowance. More information about taxable interest income and the personal savings allowance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/apply-tax-free-interest-on-savings.
• Shares in the Co-op are not directly transferable from one private individual to another. Any share transfers (including in the event of a sale or upon death) must be approved and facilitated by the Board.
• On the topic of death, whilst it is something most of us would rather not think about, it is better to be prepared. The website will soon include a facility that will allow you to nominate up to four beneficiaries to whom your share will be transferred in the event of your death. We’ll let you know when this is ready for you to use.
• Members can now also visit their dashboard and click on “Edit Profile” to add themselves to the waiting list for buying more shares. Although we will not be facilitating additional share purchases for a while, we wanted to give members the opportunity to express their interest.

For those seeking further detail about ownership, a dedicated page is now available here: https://derrilwater.com/understanding-your-membership-in-derril-water-co-op/.
Additionally, your dashboard now shows your original investment value and your current holding value to help you better understand your investment. We encourage members to seek independent tax advice if they have questions about how these arrangements may affect their personal tax position.

Update on Begbies Traynor Group Ltd Statement
Members may have noticed that £77,963.63 is listed as owed by Begbies Traynor Group Ltd. We want to reassure you that the Board is in contact with them to address this matter. We will share further updates as soon as it is appropriate to do so.

Project Update and Next Steps
The project is in its final stages of construction, with energisation still planned for this summer. Once the site has been energised, a General Meeting will be called to discuss next steps and provide members a clearer picture of how the Co-op will run in the future. In the meantime, the member dashboard has just been updated with the April 2025 board minutes. Please read these documents for an additional depth of information concerning the delivery of the project.

We thank you for your continued support and patience as we work to bring the Derril Water Solar Park online and secure the long-term future of the Co-op.

All the best,
Derril Water Solar Co-op Board

Dear Member,

We’re writing to provide clarity on several frequently asked questions and share important updates as we continue moving towards energisation and future operations.

New Member Website – Now Live!

Our new website is now live at https://derrilwater.com and will become your central hub for member information and engagement.

Getting Started:

Registration: Please register using the name and email address you originally provided when signing up with Ripple. This allows us to verify your membership against our records. If your details have changed, you’ll be able to update these after your registration is confirmed.

Access and Features: After verifying your membership, you’ll receive an activation email. Once logged in, you’ll be able to view your wattage ownership, access Co-op board minutes, and participate in member polls. In the future, we’ll introduce additional features such as live solar generation data and an API for your personal use.

Need Help? If you no longer have access to your original email address, please contact us at [email protected]. We’ll manually verify your identity and provide access.

Staying in Touch – Email Communications

Some members had issues receiving our previous email update. Most of these have now been resolved, but if you’re still experiencing problems, please email us at [email protected]. We’re committed to ensuring every member stays informed and connected.

Selling Site Power

As mentioned previously, the Derril Water SPV has entered a short-term agreement with EDF to sell electricity from the solar park. This arrangement is purely to generate revenue for the project—it does not mean members must be supplied by EDF. Your choice of energy supplier remains completely yours and does not affect your ability to receive savings.

Member Savings – How Will They Be Paid?

We’re currently exploring two options for delivering your member savings:

• As a credit on your electricity bill
• As a direct payment to your bank account

We’re also considering how often payments should be made. No decision has been finalised yet, and your input will help shape our approach. Please visit the poll section in your Member Dashboard on the new website to share your thoughts.

Selecting a Managed Services Partner

Choosing a new Managed Services Partner is an important outstanding task. This partner will support the Derril Water Co-op and Derril Water SPV by managing operations and acting as an agent for the boards. Their responsibilities might be more focused compared to Ripple, ensuring strong value and efficient member support.

Thank you once again for your continued support. The board remains focused on energising the project and delivering lasting benefits for all members.

All the best,
Derril Water Solar Co-op Board

Dear Member,

Welcome to the first Derril Water Coop newsletter post-Ripple, and to the much anticipated update directly from our newly installed email platform! Whilst we’ve managed to get some messaging out via social media and some emails to our temporary email account, we recognise that is a sub-optimal solution.  This this is the start of our own managed channel between Members and their Coop Board and I look forward to sharing our new website and dashboard imminently. Today’s update is broadly similar to that shared in those pre-emptive communications for sake of expediency. We will, of course, be improving the email updates iteratively over the coming weeks and months.

I want to begin by saying a big thank you for your patience and understanding during this transition away from the Ripple model. As your Board, we are highly aware of how unsettling the administration process of Ripple may continue to feel, and we understand your genuine concerns arising from the situation. We also acknowledge that we haven’t been able to communicate as much, or as soon as we would have liked, which is broadly a consequence of the administration situation.  

Given the position of DW, our priority, as is the priority for members as a whole, is energisation of the solar farm.  I am also really pleased to say that the delivery team and contractors we are working with are equally focussed on getting to this milestone.

Our main message to members is that your project remains on track commence commercial operations this summer.  I look forward to being more specific on this as soon as we can. For now, I will share a few other topical updates with you.

1^st Energy / Administration of Ripple

Unfortunately we do not have a complete picture of what has happened, or may continue to happen with the assets and administration process of Ripple Energy Ltd. The process of administration from the insolvency firm Begbies Traynor has been unsatisfactory from our perspective.  Whilst they are not obliged under law to interact with the various Coops, given the unique nature of the Ripple model we would have hoped for better communication. Which has impacted our communications with members.  However, despite this, we have progressed and adapted to the situation as it unfolds, remembering that the DW situation was always different from the other Coops as we are still in construction.  What we do know is:

• All employees of Ripple Energy have been made redundant
• The technology platform (your dashboard) has been sold to 1^st Energy
• Initially we sought to maintain a relationship with Ripple to continue management services to Derril Water.  As it became apparent this would not be a suitable solution, the DW Coop (as have all others), formally ceased that relationship earlier in April.  We therefore no longer benefit from a ‘managed service’ from Ripple, but RES continues to oversee the construction works on our behalf.

1stEnergy Situation

I have met the Directors of 1^st Energy to discuss what if any services they could provide for DW and other Coops.  At this time, we are keeping our options open and will run a competitive process based on our requirements to procure management services in due course.

Ripple Dashboard

In selling the platform to 1^st Energy, we believe the administrators would have also had access to shared member details, such as name and email.  Whilst on the one hand, this has enabled continued access for members, on the other hand we are unsure whether this is compliant with GDPR rules. Therefore, we have reported (as have all the ex-Ripple Coops) the administrator to the ICO, and await their report.  

1stEnergy Communications

Repeating Kirk Hill’s comment on this topic you may have received also, we assume you will all have received an unsolicited email from 1st Energy (1E).  We believe (as do some of you) that this is a direct breach of GDPR and it is particularly frustrating that they have done this even after we asked them not to contact members directly and to delete all member data.

Some of you have already responded to 1E on this matter and thank you for sharing those emails and the responses with us.  There is further information on this matter on the ICO website here https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/your-right-to-get-your-data-deleted/ but we have a number of GDPR experts within our ranks and one has agreed to us sharing their wording if you wish to contact 1E directly.  I will share this template with you as soon as possible.

Project update

The last formal Board meeting was held on the 28th April.  Minutes from that meeting alongside all previous have been loaded onto our new portal that I look forward to sharing registration details with you very soon.  

The key update from that meeting was a potential short delay to energisation date due to ongoing testing for successful grid connection.  Our anticipated commercial operations date has not changed, which is the key milestone dates for members as this is the point when the site starts selling power. 

I was able to visit DW in person at the end of March and met with the project team from Ethical Power (our Engineering Procurement Construction (EPC) contractor), which I also posted on Facebook/LinkedIn.  I was impressed with the progress on the site, and with how engaged the team at Ethical and RES have been to work with the board.  Clearly, alongside our bank, Virgin Money, all parties are committed to project delivery.

The board has met multiple times informally to navigate the situation as it unfolds and to progress the project.  I have been regularly liaising with the other ex-Ripple Coop Boards to share progress and collaborate where it makes sense to do so.  

To provide project continuity, we have chosen to employ ex-Ripple Chief Project Officer, Simon Peltenburg, on a short term, contractor basis. This is expected to last till energisation.  Whilst there may be some member misgivings about retaining an ex-Ripple Director, Simon has extensive renewable development expertise and knowledge that will serve the project well. We believe this is the best option to allow us to retain some continuity during the construction process, and to move us towards energisation as efficiently as possible. 

Communication channels

Managing communications for almost 10k members is not as simple as sending a group email, it requires a “business-grade” system.  To manage communications to a reasonable standard that is sustainable long term, we will need to set-up our own website.  Whilst this is a relatively quick process, we have been temporarily constrained by our limited payment capability due to clearing bank account access, security.  Now resolved, we have the ability to pay for services required, as this email demonstrates.  This will also facilitate further third-party services we need, from legal to accounting.

We have been using a temporary email [email protected], that I will start to wind down.  However, please understand we will remain resource constrained, so please refrain from general or ad-hoc update queries.

Commercial operations

With Ripple falling away, we now have several options to consider for how the solar farm operations will be managed, including the optimum commercial route to market and path to pay savings to members.  Part of the critical path to site energisation was getting metering systems in place, which requires input from the meter operator and data collector, who in turn need a supplier in place to enable power to be exported from the site.  Whilst we have a few months to work through the options available to us for longer-term export arrangements, we have decided to go with a flexible offer from EDF in the short term to enable energisation.  

Members of existing Ripple Coops will be aware that Octopus has been historically for power purchases, which remains an option we will consider in due course.  Again, our priority remains site energisation, and EDF were able to act quickly for us.  This approach will allow the Board to run a competitive selection process from a range of potential parties for longer term power purchase later this summer.

As these options become clearer, we will engage with members further.  For the time being members should be reassured that their investment remains safe, and that this situation affords us the opportunity to consider what is in our long-term best interest to manage DW.

In summary, we are making good progress and looking forward to generating power for members this summer.  Things will look different from how we all expected at the start of this project, but the consistent fact is you are a shareholder of a 42MWp solar site that will provide renewable power and savings for members and their households for many years to come.  We look forward to engaging members more regularly through our own website soon and subsequently setting up a live update meeting in due course.  

Across the DW Coop and SPV we have seven volunteer Board members, who have stepped up above and beyond their anticipated contribution for this project. We are comfortable that we have a clear path and necessary resources for the project to commence commercial operations.  For now, and on behalf of your Board, thank you for your ongoing support and patience. 

Best Wishes,
Ben Reade, Derril Water Chair