Member Info for Lutra

VeebleVobble, downside risk for me is the impenetrable structural arrangement of companies, sub-companies and holding companies in the SAE family - some uk-based, some overseas. Add in the various bodies who probably have preference claims on assets in some of these sub-companies (we really just don't know about some of the arrangements) and I defy anyone to be able to fully analyse this company. I'm sure we've all suffered in the wild-west nature of AIM stocks and their light-touch regulation and for years SAE was in my too opaque to touch, category. I'm afraid that when the price dropped too low, I weakened and bought in. I'm lucky that I am in at an average of 1.47pps, so I am currently above water and there are so many reasons to be positive about the future price. But I do so with a very real fear on the downside risks.

Also an interesting comment on the Radio Scotland News yesterday evening in the context of the proposed extension to the life of the Torness Nuclear Power Station. An antinuclear spokesperson said we should be investing in battery storage instead and cited Vanadium flow batteries being made in Bathgate and being much better than Lithium batteries.

Grsshaw, yes, I managed to get some more below 12p, too. Surprised that there wasn't more of an early demand.

I'm guessing that the balance sheet will show a total value that is split between "Share Capital" and "Retained Earnings". If the shares valued as 14p shares are reduced to 1p shares then for every share in issue there is a transfer of value from the Share capital account to the Retained earnings account of 13p. It's an accounting trick to make more cash available to the company and while the rational side of my brain can't find any fault with it, the emotional side has alarm bells ringing!

East Renfrewshire is most likely to be the Whitelee Project, where ITM is/was scheduled to be the provider of the electrolysers. Still awaiting Consents Unit approval, though!

TRBob, sorry, I was only looking at the Documents lodged, whereas most of the local objections are in the comments tab, so yes, 14 objections. Most Local Authorities copy the comments across to the Documents tab so that everything is in one place, but this hasn't happened yet for MayBess. For comparison, another case I am interested in has about 270 objections - different geography of course, but I would still argue that 14 objections is pretty insignificant.

The fundamental question over the legality of this being handled under s36 procedures is really quite interesting, though. Transferring responsibility for BESS applications from the Consents Unit to the local Planning Authority would greatly speed up the approvals process, but a legal challenge to the process could delay things considerably.

TRBob, three objections (so far) to Highland Council hardly qualifies as "NIMBYs out in force"! In fact the last of these objections, written by a well-respected planning consultant on behalf of a local resident, actually makes for interesting reading and raises a number of significant points - including asking whether the Consents Unit can legally determine a BESS scheme under s36 arrangements. While the other issues raised are largely procedural and presumably relate to all the BESS applications currently being developed in Highland, they paint a picture of a poorly thought-through process, where BESS schemes are being pushed through a system that is not designed to properly assess them. It would be bad luck if the MeyBess scheme was the one that alerted officialdom to the need for a better system.

Mehmet, your comment on UK potential for "tidal" versus "geothermal" is interesting. Would we include heat recovery from mine water in our definition of geothermal? In terms of an accessible source of heat below our most populated locations (which tend, to an extent, to reflect patterns of past deep-coal recovery) there is a large potential which avoids some of the costs/challenges of deep geothermal or salt-water tidal generation. In all probability we may need to separate out heat generation from electricity generation as part of the decarbonisation process and it might be expected that GB Energy would be considering both aspects.

Oldtramp, I very much hope you are right and there seems no reason for the consents unit to hold this up. But it is worth noting that the most recent BESS application to be approved by Scottish Government had a consultation closing date of 19th February 2021 and a consent issued on 16th July 2024...

Since this is not showing on the RNS list here (presumably because it is a REACH item):

Raspberry Pi Holdings plc

("Raspberry Pi" or "the Company")

New Product Announcement

Raspberry Pi (LSE: RPI), a leader in low-cost, high-performance computing, announces the release of Raspberry Pi Pico 2, and the RP2350 microcontroller platform.

Launch of Raspberry Pi Pico 2 and RP2350

The Company is pleased to announce the release of Raspberry Pi Pico 2, a single-board computer built on RP2350, its new high-performance, secure microcontroller platform. Raspberry Pi Pico 2 builds on the success of the first-generation Raspberry Pi Pico products, which together have shipped over 3.5 million units since launch in January 2021, and delivers a significant performance and feature-set upgrade, while retaining hardware and software compatibility.

Compared with the existing RP2040 microcontroller, RP2350 offers faster processors, more memory, upgraded interfacing capabilities, and new security features. These features are extensively documented and available to all users without restriction, allowing professional customers to integrate RP2350, and Raspberry Pi Pico 2, into their products with confidence.

The launch of Raspberry Pi Pico 2, and RP2350, supports the Company's strategy to grow volumes by enhancing the performance and feature sets of its products, in the Industrial and Embedded, Enthusiast and Education, and Semiconductor markets.

Raspberry Pi CEO, Dr Eben Upton commented: "We continue to make encouraging progress across the business and Raspberry Pi Pico 2 and RP2350 embody our core values of performance, flexibility, and affordability, and are an important next step in the evolution of Raspberry Pi as a semiconductor vendor. We look forward to other exciting product releases through the second half of 2024 and into 2025."

SimonV/Theoldtrader, these two are pretty old news, it's simply that they have now reached the next stage of the planning process. There are a huge number of battery storage sites in the pipeline in the Highlands, almost one for each hydro or wind generation scheme. The best way to get a feel for the scale of the move to battery storage in Scotland is to have a quick look at the Scottish Government's Energy Consents Unit webpage.

Sorry Jdubya, in my post I had your name and Danny's the wrong way round! I'm actually agreeing with you. My position is marginally better (my average is 0.00116 per share) but still needing a decent rise in share price (at least in percentage terms) to get back into the black. Just trying to resist the temptation to buy more to lower the average again! :)

Jdubya, your maths makes less sense to me than DannyQSee's! I don't have the same value of investment as Danny but my initial investment was at 40.2p and by buying more on the way down, my average cost is currently 0.12p. So for me, its not difficult to make sense of Danny's numbers.

"I bought 260066 shares for 2.65 this morning which aren't showing up."

...but coincidentally there is a single transaction at the right time for 260226 at 2.65? If I were you I'd check the figures on the contract note!

They have a month to register any Director share purchases...and you expect to know about it by 08.51?

AB needs to learn the difference between complimentary and complementary!

Tennents, thanks - I see that Whitelee is also included in the HAR1 at 7.1MW. It has been with the Consents Unit for quite some time, so a decision must surely be imminent.

In contrast, I don't see the Cromarty Hydrogen (Beinn Tharsuinn) project on the Consents Unit list yet, so it doesn't look as if it has yet reached the stage of a formal Planning Application (if anyone else knows differently, please provide a link!). Although Beinn Tharsuinn might be an easier one to determine, given the delays over Whitelee, I can't see them needing the reserved capacity to be logged for Cromarty just yet!

Could be Aberdeen, but remember there is still the Whitelee development in the pipeline - partner is SP Renewables and is a classic example of a project that is stuck in the Planning system.

I've seen ITM vehicles on the A9 heading to Inverness, (rather than the A90 to Aberdeen) which could be an indicator of something afoot at Nigg as part of the Green Freeport, (which got UK & Scottish Government money ) where there are plans for a Hydrogen Hub.

Oldtramp, the Lords briefing does mention tidal. "...the government would invest in carbon capture and storage,

hydrogen and marine energy (including tidal and wave energy)..." While it looks like a case of naming everything that they can think of, it is good to be on the list. Clearly, though it looks like all this is to be investment channeled through GB Energy. It will take time to set GB Energy up, staff it and for it to draw up its investment criteria, so it may be a while before any funds are flowing.

Strangy that House of Lords briefing document quotes the Labour manifesto as saying " increase the UK’s energy storage capacity.", which I think would include BESS.

But the manifesto also suggests that the new Government is going to "eradicate bovine tuberculosis"...would that it were so simple! Remember this is only a background briefing document based on the political wish-list of an incoming political party. We need to wait to see what the actual King's Speech says and how it translates into practical support for companies like SAE.