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Wind turbines: Credible or cobblers?

We all know who is going to pay for using less energy anyway, so is it time to consider forking out for a home turbine and reap the benefit of lower fuel bills...?

There is plenty of support for microgeneration from all sections of the public says MP Mark Lazarowicz, who promoted the Private Members Bill that hopes to prioritise policy measures to support consumer-based microgeneration and breakdown many of the barriers facing uptake of the sector.

"This Bill will give a big boost to householders and local groups who want to install renewable energy in their own houses and communities," he said. "Small scale renewable energy - microgeneration - can make a significant contribution to the UK''s energy needs. It is clear, from the thousands of people who have contacted me during the course of this Bill, that this technology has captured the public''s interest. It is now up to industry, local authorities and central government to respond to the public demand."

The Bill promotes household microgeneration and community energy schemes, helping alleviate cold homes and fuel poverty, and specifically requires ''route-maps'' and targets for microgeneration to be set, governmental accountability through annual reporting on carbon dioxide emissions, reporting on dynamic demand and smart metering, along with a review of permitted development rights, local plans and building regulations and other measures.

What is ''small scale regeneration''?

Microgeneration is the production of energy on the smallest of scales, for individual buildings or communities.

It's not just about wind power: The latest development is the roof or wall mounted wind turbine, but there are many other systems grouped under microgeneration. Two categories of solar powered technologies; photovoltaic (PV) systems, that produce electricity, and solar thermal systems to provide hot-water and sometimes space heating.

Ground Source Heat Pumps use energy stored in the ground for space heating and micro-Combined Heat and Power (micro-CHP) look and operate similar to gas boilers whilst providing electricity as well as heat.

Microgeneration is cost-effective. Some technologies are more accessible than others but all can deliver on at least two of the four energy policy objectives; reductions in C02 emissions, reliability of supply, fuel poverty relief and maintaining competitiveness.

Catalyst

Microgeneration is a catalyst for cultural change. There are wider benefits than just cost and carbon reductions Consumers with microgeneration exhibit noticeable changes in their energy use, as well as sending a clear visual signal of a property contributes in generating low or zero carbon energy to neighbours.

Lifestyles also change after living with green homes for a while, although you might not realise it until or unless you move back into a normal house. People living for two years in an experimental green house near Newbury were surprised to discover the subtle changes to their lifestyle when the trial came to an end.

Cost-effective

Payback can be achieved in as little as 5 to 7 years, says Windsave, one of the new up-welling of companies selling wind power technologies for the home.

They make the point that this low payback takes into account getting grant assistance and also the strength of your local average wind speed. But it's not expensive to get involved. Their WS1000 system will set you back around £1600 fully installed.

The system is rated to give about 1KW at the 'industry standard' nominal wind speed of 12 meters per second, and will generate fine over a range of about 4 - 15 meters/sec. The average UK wind speed is reckoned to range from 4 - 10 meters/sec.

What happens when the weather is too fierce?

Systems have to cope with the occasional storm and they usually progressively shut down electronically as excessive turbine speeds build up and then have some form of fail-safe shut down in storm conditions.

Lightning conductors would seem sensible on expensive or tall installations but most house-mounted installations will be no more vulnerable than TV aerials or satellite dishes. A good home issuance policy should cover the small risk.

What sort of savings can you make

Estimates vary but Windsave and others quote up to 30% of your electricity bill by reduced electricity consumption.

As well as a government grant of 30% towards the cost of purchasing the system, (contact The Energy Savings Trust (EST) via www.est.org.uk or call 0800 915 7722) a fossil fuel saving credit is available via ROCs Renewable Obligation Certificates).

These are government-sponsored credits that do not involve taxation. Fossil fuel generators pay CCL (Climate Change Levy) that goes towards funding the introduction of renewable energy production e.g. wind farms. Currently an annual ROC credit of approx. 1MW of electricity per annum is worth around £60.

You'd need to check whether your local authority has independent grants and incentive schemes for renewable products.

Can the electricity be sold?

Not with small systems at the moment. Some of the medium sized systems, for example the Iskra's 5KW generator can generate more than a home can use (on average) and are designed to be connected to the electricity grid so you can sell any unused electricity.

Generally, building-mounted systems are not powerful enough to warrant connection the extra cost of connecting to the grid and even those that are powerful enough can earn much more in savings from electricity used than can be gained from exporting power to the grid.

Bigger systems are not designed to be fitted to a building - the brickwork could never stand the enormous wind stresses - so the installation is more expensive and you need the space for it, which might sound simple but you have to think of the guy ropes too.

The latest breed of building-mounted turbines are a world away from the battery-charging systems used for boats and caravans - but don't expect to get wind power when the mains electricity fails. It's likely that the turbine electronics will need to be synchronised with the mains supply frequency so if the mains fails, so will your wind generated supply!

The advantage of course is that the system's working life is down to mechanics rather than battery life. You should expect to get a ten year maintenance-free life from a modern system, maybe 15 years if some regular servicing is made.

Will I have enough wind?

As you'd expect, there are good and bad and average locations for using wind power - you can check yours by going to an on-line wind speed estimator and inserting your postcode.

Iskra's is at http://www.iskrawind.com/windchecker.htm and the British Wind Energy Association has a comprehensive estimating system at http://www.windsave.com/

What about planning permission?

You will need planning permission - and some agreement from neighbours. However, as we mentioned at the beginning of this article, the situation is rapidly changing and the government hopes to introduce easier routes though the planning maze, particularly in respect of microgeneration systems where the visual impact is no more offensive than a satellite dish or TV aerial.

Is it all worthwhile?

Well - it depends upon your point of view. There is no doubt that ecologically there is a benefit. Wind power is an abundant source of renewable energy in the UK. I

n fact we have 40% of Europe's total wind energy but only 0.5% of our electricity requirements are currently generated by wind power and small-scale systems could reduce the national energy generation by 30% if we all had one fitted to our homes. That would mean less waste in distribution and less carbon into the atmosphere.

On cost grounds the jury is out - if it weren't for the grants there would be no contest - it just would not be worthwhile given the payback potential and the lifetime. Also, just like any other power station there is a downstream cost when the unit becomes defunct or outmoded.

But as it is, it will pay back in say seven years, probably less. That's not bad, especially if you consider that energy prices are bound to rise as north sea oil and gas dry up.

If you are a committed ecophile then now's the time to show the rest of the community what you are made of. Sure, costs will reduce and designs will improve but unless those committed to reducing the carbon dioxide load in the planet's atmosphere act soon, those new benefits are just not going to filter down to the average household. With a positive cost benefit in the offering it surely pays to get in and update later.

House builders are all beginning to trial eco-designs - some are building small villages with a range of microgeneration methods, with a view to seeing how different methods perform.

Related links:

http://www.bwea.com/small/
http://www.iskrawind.com/about.htm
http://www.renewabledevices.com/swift/specification.htm
http://www.windsave.com/
http://www.barratthomes.co.uk/ecosmart/solar.html