Home wind turbines have vast potential ... if sited right

Location is key to getting the most out of small home-based wind turbines, and householders in Scotland enjoy the greatest potential for domestic wind energy, according to a new report from the Energy Saving Trust.

The study, “Location, location, location,” summarises the organisation’s findings from a field trial of domestic wind turbines. The “most comprehensive technical monitoring exercise of this technology undertaken to date in the UK,” the trial was launched in January 2007.

Among the report’s conclusions:

• Wind turbines do work but only when installed properly in an appropriate location;
• There is a potential for delivering carbon savings and energy generation from domestic small-scale wind turbines in the UK;
• The highest potential for successful household small-scale wind installations is in Scotland;
• Potential customers should first use the best available wind speed estimation tools and then, where appropriate, install anemometry to determine the wind speed distribution;
• The introduction of product and installation standards will make information from specific products is easily comparable; and
• Customers should consider only domestic small-scale wind products and installers that are certified under the Microgeneration Certification Scheme.

“This report has once again confirmed the vast potential for deployment of small systems in the UK, even at today’s electricity prices,” said Alex Murley, head of Small Systems for the British Wind Energy Association (BWEA). “Like all other renewable technologies, these devices work very well when properly sited and are likely to be deployed by an increasing number of households in the next decade. This is why BWEA has invested considerable efforts to develop industry standards, and raise customer awareness on the benefits of the technology.”

Murley added, “In 2008 the UK was the world’s biggest exporter of small systems, and is increasingly lauded internationally as the world’s manufacturing leader in the sector. The EST report shows that there are significant opportunities for small systems’ deployment within the UK. There is also scope for agricultural, industrial, public housing and leisure sector deployment.”