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Trust Issues: Investing in UK wind farms with UKW's Matt Ridley
Description
In this episode of Trust Issues, we speak to Matt Ridley, partners at Schroders Greencoat and co-manager of Greencoat UK Wind (UKW).
Matt explains what UKW invests in, how it invests and how it manages its wind farm assets, and outlines some of the supportive tailwinds for the wind industry - including artificial intelligence. He also discusses the pushback we've seen from some quarters on the route to net zero, as well as how UKW hopes to get back to making new investments.
00:00 Introduction
01:34 What does UKW invest in?
02:27 How cyclical through the year is UKW's power generation?
03:43 How UKW makes money from the wind farms it owns
05:40 How UKW's wind farms are valued
07:02 UKW's inflation-linked dividend
08:30 Why renewables trusts bond proxy moniker is out of date
11:00 The risks of investing in wind farms
12:25 The impact of government policy changes on UKW
14:35 Why demand for data centres provides tailwinds for UKW
18:14 How UKW thinks about capital allocation
20:46 Why this year is the right time to make a disciplined return to new investments
22:23 Further information
22:46 Risk warning
Please note that this podcast was recorded on 1 June 2026.