"As I'm sure you're aware, energy prices are growing at greater than 15% per annum this Century. I'm not saying this will continue indefinitely but I believe prices will always exceed the RPI for ever (and of course strongly impact the RPI). Could you factor that into your calculations and let us know what the return will be like? We have included maintenance costs in the £110,000 income already. 50 years is a conservative figure. The only thing's to be replaced are the top and bottom bearings (each with an 11 year life) and the electrical equipment - perhaps every 25 years. Thanks for your interest and comments. Dave."

Dave, apologies for the delay in responding!
It's certainly true that energy prices have increased over the last century and there are good structurally reasons for believing they will continue to be maintained at a level higher than that seen in the past (e.g. economic advancement in non-OECD countries is seeing around one billion people transitioning to a more developed way of life). The current global economic climate is of course depressing oil (and therefore energy prices) but many commentators would expect this to return to a range of between $60 and $90 / bbl over the medium term. OPEC itself has signalled a target price in the middle of this range. So, overall, I am agreeing with your view that energy prices will remain relatively high going forward. Nevertheless, in a standard business financial evaluation of a project like this the returns do not look compelling. Normally one would take a prudent approach by inflating costs and keeping revenues flat. You indicate that maintenance figures are already included in the £110,000 figure. That is reassuring. But even so, a basic financial analysis does not make this an investable scheme, at least not for me! This project is being considered for all the right reasons and I absolutely support it from that perspective. But for everyone's sake, I would strongly urge you to have someone familar with project economics look over the financials to make sure they truly do make good business sense. Hope this helps. Lloyd Jenkins 07810 856303

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