News

Alec Shelbrooke visits Earthmill

Elmet and Rothwell MP, Alec Shelbrooke, has visited the offices of Earthmill. During his visit Mr Shelbrooke met the Earthmill team, including founder and managing director Steve Milner, and learned about the company’s origins and its ambitions for the future.

Earthmill, which started life five years ago as a project in Mr Milner’s garage, specialises in supplying and installing small to medium scale farm wind turbines and has grown to employ 28 people at its Wetherby offices. Since the first Earthmill wind turbine went into the ground at Holmfirth in 2010, the company has supplied and installed more than 175 turbines across the UK.

The installation of a small-scale wind turbine can reduce a farm’s electricity bill by as much as £40,000 a year for high energy users as well as providing a rental income for 20 years. Demand from the farming industry has soared in recent months as power costs continue to increase.

Mr Shelbrooke said: “It was fascinating to see how individual wind turbines can integrate into agri-businesses across the country and the role they play in reducing reliance on foreign gas supply.

“Earthmill is a great example of small businesses growing and expanding in Yorkshire. I’m sure the business will continue to grow and I look forward to continuing a working relationship with this exciting firm in my constituency”.

Mr Milner said: “Alec wrote to us some time ago to offer any support he could to a local growing business, so we invited him in to meet the team and see how we have actually doubled in size since he first contacted us.

“Because farm-scale turbines can get lumped in with the bad press that wind farms attract, we felt it was important to explain the huge disparity in scale and impact on the landscape between Earthmill’s much smaller farm-scale turbines and large wind farm developments.

He added: “At Earthmill we’re all really proud that we’ve helped so many farm businesses to reduce their energy costs, giving them an extra source of revenue as well as reducing their carbon footprint.”

News

Hundreds of farms get green light for turbines as Eskdalemuir exclusion zone to reduce by 90%

Farmers and landowners in Dumfries and Galloway are set to receive the green light for planning after the MoD has withdrawn objections around the Eskdalemuir Seismic Array facility.

Hundreds of farms in the original exclusion zone, which covered close to 8,000 sq km, will now be able to apply for permission to install agricultural-scale turbines in some of the UK’s most productive wind country.

The original 80 km radius exclusion zone, which was claimed to be necessary by the MoD to avoid the interference with measuring sensors, was reduced to 50 km a decade ago.  This has now been reduced to 15 km following extensive research and will include just over 700 sq km of mainly farmland around the measuring facility.

“This decision offers dozens of landowners and farmers the chance to earn significant income from electricity generation. Given the topography of the land we are talking about and the wind speeds, it potentially represents some of the UK’s best land for generating electricity from wind,” said Earthmill managing director Steve Milner.

“There are around 800 live planning applications for individual medium-scale turbines around the UK at present and we are likely to see more from Dumfries and Galloway boosting that total as a direct result of this decision,” he added.

Motivated by a combination of commercial and environmental benefits, more and more farmers are looking to reduce their own farms’ rising energy costs, generate additional revenues and help the environment at the same time by installing farm scale turbines.

New data shows that in March this year the power generated by renewables overtook that made by nuclear power for the first time, a sign of things to come as the UK’s wind energy sector matures. 

The development of wind farms, as well as the less prominent individual small and medium agricultural-scale turbines that farmers are installing right across the UK, is swelling the proportion of renewables power the country is producing, especially during high-consumption winter months when wind speeds also tend to be higher.

“Each 225 kw medium-scale turbine can provide enough power for around 150 homes. For farmers, a turbine also results in a drastic reduction in billed power consumption and so this action by the MoD has given new opportunity to a great many farmers in the region,” added Mr Milner.

News

Earthmill aims for £1.25m with first crowd-funded turbine investment

Wetherby-based wind turbine specialist Earthmill has opened the UK’s first crowd-funded investment aimed at farm scale turbines, which enables individuals to invest in turbine installations already operating on farms across Yorkshire.

The innovative fund, which guarantees investors returns of 7.25 per cent per annum over three years, has been launched by renewable energy crowd-funding platform Trillion Fund. Investments start from £50 and Earthmill’s initial target is to raise £1.25m. Loans will be secured against five already operational farm scale turbines across Yorkshire.

Steve Milner, managing director of Earthmill said: “Not everyone has the land or the opportunity to build their own wind turbine, so we are offering the UK’s first farm scale turbine investment fund, which enables thousands of new investors to share in the benefits of energy generation. Our partnership with UK turbine manufacturer Endurance makes this creative approach to funding possible. We anticipate rolling this investment model out to a further 20 turbines situated on farms across the country, which will generate enough electricity to power more than 900 homes, over the coming 12 months.”

He added: “Individual small scale turbines on farms are becoming increasingly popular, because producing energy at the same place as it is required is extremely efficient and directly supports UK farming.”

Previously, investors who wanted to enter the wind turbine market needed land suitable for their own turbines, and required between £250k to £600k of funding to buy and install a turbine. The new fund opens up the renewables market and enables private investors to share in some of the returns small-scale turbines promise to deliver as energy costs rise.

“We are seeing a shift in perception in the UK as people realise that less imposing smaller scale turbines, usually on farms are starting to make a real impact on the UK’s generation mix,” said Mark Woodward, Earthmill operations director.

He added: “The UK has a looming shortfall in power generation, which can’t be met by new power stations alone. As the technology has evolved over recent years, the price of power has continued rising and the rewards for generating wind power have grown, we are seeing many landowners join the ranks of energy producers. The new fund opens the market up for investment by anyone, and communities can also get involved, sharing in the stable returns renewables offer to investors.”

Further details on the fund, and details of how the investments work, can be found at www.trillionfund.com.

News

Wind powers market-beating 7.5% for canny crowdfunders

• UK’s biggest, peer-to-peer financed wind energy project to date: total target raise of £5 million this year to finance new turbines across the UK
• First £1.25 million tranche is a loan secured against five operational wind turbines in the North of England
• 7.5% bonus rate for those lending before July 31, reverting to 7.25% standard rate thereafter
• A £1,000 loan would return £1,225 after 3-year term. Interest paid six-monthly
• Minimum amount of £50, no maximum

From today (Thursday, June 19), people looking to get a better return on their money can take advantage of one of the biggest opportunities to profit from the growth in clean energy in the UK to date, with a loan-based crowdfund from Trillion Fund, the renewable energy crowdfunding platform.

E2Energy, a joint venture between Endurance, the leading community-scale wind turbine manufacturer, and Earthmill, one of the largest wind turbine suppliers and installers in the UK, will launch the first £1.25 million tranche of a total planned £5 million raise to finance the construction and installation of new wind turbines.

The loan offers anyone with as little as £50 a market-leading [1] return of 7.25 per cent a year over three years, on the Trillion Fund crowdfunding platform (www.trillionfund.com/e2energy). Lenders signing up within the first 30 days will receive bonus interest of 0.25 per cent, boosting returns to 7.5 per cent. For example, a lender putting in £1,000 before July 31 will get back £1,225 at the end of three years. That’s a better risk-adjusted return than on current best-buy, three-year bonds or mainstream peer-to-peer loans.

Crowdfunders will benefit from the knowledge that their money is backed by five, fully operational wind turbines located in Yorkshire and South Teesside, which are covered by insurance for 20 years and are already generating revenue from feed-in tariffs linked to the Retail Price Index, as well as the sale of electricity to the grid. They have insurance and maintenance agreements in place to cover the duration of the term.

Proceeds from the raise will be used to install new Endurance turbines on sites that have already received planning permission in Yorkshire, the North West, the North East, south Wales and Scotland.

Some of the electricity generated by the turbines goes directly to local farmers, helping to support the UK agricultural industry – the rest is bought by power utilities.

The raise is the first to launch on Trillion’s innovative new platform, launched last week, which enables lenders to lend to or invest in projects in just a few minutes.

Julia Groves, managing director of Trillion Fund, said:  “Wind profits do not have to be just for wealthy landowners – they can go to everyone. And we are all ultimately paying for feed-in tariffs, so we might as well be making a return from them too.

“Renewable energy projects offer unique, asset-backed returns, because they generate a steady, relatively predictable income flow from the feed-in tariff they receive and the electricity they send to the grid. There is also some inflation-proofing as the tariff rises in line with the Retail Price Index.”

Dave Rankin, managing director of Endurance UK, said: “Endurance has a strong community focus and we wanted to give everyone the chance to have a stake in the growth of UK wind – not just the private equity players, banks and high net worth individuals that have so far funded much of the sector.

“In Denmark, where the renewables sector is more advanced, they say that when local people own the wind farms and share in the benefits, they support them. You go from NIMBY (Not in my Back Yard) to POOL (Please On Our Land)”.

Mark Woodward, commercial director of Earthmill, said: “The money raised in this crowdfund will go to installing more turbines and generating more clean, cost efficient energy to parts of the UK that really need it.

“Most of the risk in wind energy is at the pre-construction phase. Once the turbines are through planning and up and running, the risk involved in a project is reduced. Maintenance costs also tend to be low and are built into our return forecasts – and the wind is plentiful and free.”

The Trillion Fund platform is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and offers people the chance to lend to or invest in projects through peer-to-per loans, debentures, regular funds and community share raises.

CONTACTS FOR QUESTIONS/ INTERVIEWS/ PICTURES/VIDEO:

Charlotte Ens at Edelman (Endurance), charlotte.ens@edelman.com, 020 3047 2371 / 07811 341 916

Valentina Kristensen at Lansons (Trillion Fund), valentinak@lansons.com, 0207 566 9720/0757 234 9009

Rebecca O’Connor at Trillion Fund, rebecca.oconnor@trillionfund.com, 07967 613 925

News

60% growth in farm turbine applications

An army of landowners and farmers are rallying to the call to help Britain out of a looming energy crisis by installing single turbines and becoming small scale power generators.

Planning applications for small and medium-scale turbines has grown by 60% in the last six months according to data released by leading agricultural turbine specialist Earthmill.  The company has installed more than 150 turbines on farms and land across the UK, from Scotland to Cornwall. Its customers contribute to the UK renewable energy sector that now generates enough power for over 6 million homes on average.

Motivated by a combination of commercial and environmental benefits, more and more farmers are looking to reduce their own farm’s rising energy costs, generate additional revenues and help the environment at the same time. Since the last data was released in October 2013, ‘live’ planning applications in the UK have risen by around 60% to 810, driven by a wider awareness of the benefits of turbine generation. 

“There are over 300,000 working farms in the UK, and although not all land is suitable for a small or medium-scale turbines, much high ground away from neighbouring buildings can be utilised to generate income and contribute to the UK grid,” said Steve Milner of agricultural-scale turbine specialist Earthmill.

According to Renewables UK, An estimated 8,000 small and medium turbines over 1.5kw have been installed in the UK since 2005, quietly growing the percentage of the UK’s power generated by renewables over the last decade.  New data shows that in March this year the power generated by renewables overtook that made by nuclear power for the first time, a sign of things to come as the UK’s wind energy sector matures. 

The development of wind farms, as well as the less prominent individual small and medium agricultural-scale turbines that farmers are installing right across the UK, is swelling the proportion of renewables power the country is producing, especially during high-consumption winter months, when wind speeds also tend to be higher.

“Each 225 kw medium scale turbine can provide enough power for around 150 homes. For farmers, a turbine also results in a drastic reduction in billed power consumption. Electricity use by farms can be huge, especially in poultry and dairy farming, where heating and pumps are heavily used,” added Mr Milner.

“The UK is facing an energy crisis unless the country can add around 5% more power generation capacity over the coming decade to replace outdated power stations and those being decommissioned. With an estimated £110 billion of capital investment required in new power stations, we need to find more easily funded routes to self-sufficient and sustainable power generation.

“Couple this with forthcoming deadlines on reducing carbon emissions and the Government’s own green targets, and it is easy to see that whilst a ‘land army’ of smaller discreet farm scale turbines won’t solve the whole problem, they can be a big part of the overall solution,” added Mr Milner.

News

New Ellon Farm Turbine To Produce Enough Power For 30 Homes

A brand new state of the art wind turbine has been commissioned on a North East Farm that will produce enough power for over 30 local homes.

Farmer Roger Glennie and partner Jean Arnott have installed one of the UK’s most advanced small scale turbines on their 150 acre farm at Hillhead of Ardo, Methlick in Aberdeenshire.

“We wanted to make sure it would be the right turbine for our farm for the surrounding area. It was an all important decision and one that we were not going to rush into, as there has been so much hype,” says Roger.

After researching recent advances in technology they sought the advice of Earthmill and on 31 March this year an Endurance E3120 50Kw was installed and commissioned on a very exposed location in Aberdeenshire, with strong gusts of wind regularly blowing in from the North Sea.

“It’s doing what it is supposed to do and in the first month the units generated totalled 12000 Kwh. We certainly anticipate reducing our quarterly electricity bill by half to around £750 and we will be converting from oil to electric wherever it is possible.” declares Roger.

Hillhead of Ardo, a sheep and arable farm with an agricultural contracting business, is one of the latest farms in the area to install a turbine.  “This is an agricultural area and has the highest density of farm turbines in the country, which has prompted the name ‘turbine alley’,” says Jean.

News

Driffield open day to give farmers latest on wind power

An East Yorkshire farmer who has installed the latest energy-saving wind turbine on his land is hosting an open day for farmers and land owners across the North who want to know more about possible cost savings from wind generated electricity.

The free event, near Driffield, takes place on Tuesday 11 November and is one of four open days being held across the north of England and Scotland this autumn by specialist farm-scale wind turbine installer and supplier, Earthmill.

“Yorkshire is ideal for generating wind energy because the winds here are strong and consistent, as local farmers will know only too well,” said Steve Milner, managing director of Earthmill.

 “We’ve received lots of requests from the farming community to see our state-of-the art, British-built X29 225kw turbines in action and the open day will enable farmers to do just that, as well as sharing views and experiences.”

The Endurance X29 turbine is made in the UK and, with an output of 225kW per year, generates enough electricity to power 70 homes.

He added: “The Earthmill team will be on hand throughout the day to give advice and information about the savings, technology and practicalities of installing wind turbines on agricultural land and farmers will be able to talk to people in their own industry who have already installed a wind turbine.”

Bookings for the open day can be made by calling Earthmill on 01937 581011 and full directions to the event will be given.

“The financial benefits of wind turbines for farms are becoming increasingly relevant to farmers and landowners as energy bills continue to rise,” said Mr Milner. “By generating green power themselves, farmers can meet their own farm’s power requirements as well as creating additional revenue by selling surplus electricity to the National Grid.”

News

Darlington farmer hosts green energy event

North East farmer Michael Manners who has installed an energy-saving wind turbine on his land is hosting an open day for the benefit of other farmers and land owners across the North who want to know more about possible cost savings from wind generated electricity.

The free event at Coniscliffe Grange, Darlington takes place on Tuesday, 6 May and is one of just five open days to showcase the latest technology organised on farms across Britain by specialist farm-scale wind turbine installers and suppliers Earthmill.

“People often complain about our weather, but the North East has strong consistent winds that make it ideal for generating energy from wind,” said Steve Milner, managing director of Earthmill.

 “We have had a lot of requests from farmers in the North East wanting to see one of our new turbines in action and this open day allows famers to talk to each other and share their views and experiences.  It is also a great opportunity for farmers to talk to people about the process and likely savings and chat to our team of experts about their farm’s wind energy needs.”

Bookings for the open day can be made by calling Earthmill on 01937 581011 when specific directions to the event will be given.

Mr Milner added: “The financial benefits of wind turbines for farms are becoming more widely known.  Farmers and landowners can effectively future-proof their electricity costs by becoming a green energy generator, crucial when energy bills are rising, and an increasing number of farmers are turning to turbines as an additional source of much needed farm revenue.”

In October 2013, Earthmill installed the UK’s most advanced wind turbine on a dairy farm at Liskeard in Cornwall which is now generating the equivalent electricity used by almost 150 homes. 

News

New Finance Director and further growth within Earthmill

A further six new jobs are being created by rapidly expanding renewable energy company Earthmill as it expands to meet demand for farm scale wind turbines from farmers and landowners across the UK.

The £15m turnover Wetherby-based company, that already employs 25 staff in Yorkshire and 20 approved sub-contractors across the country, has announced plans to hire a new finance director after announcing investment in a move to a new 2,500 sq ft head office at Audby Lane in Wetherby.

“We’re recruiting a full time finance director at board level to take over some of my role, as well as a financial controller, senior planner, account managers and engineers.   The new head office is just yards from our current base, as we’re committed to staying here in Wetherby,” said operations director Mark Woodward.

“We are continuing to create jobs here in Yorkshire as well as employing more and more contractors to install the turbines on farms all over the country,” he added.

“At the moment we have installations going into farmers’ fields from Yorkshire to Cornwall and Scotland, so whilst the head office benefits from the administration staff, we are creating employment all over the UK.”.

An increasing number of farmers are diversifying into generating power on their land to supplement income from crops and livestock.  The turbines allow farmers and landowners to take advantage of the Feed in Tariff scheme that rewards the generation of renewable energy and provides them with discounts on rising energy bills.

Earthmill sells farm scale turbines to landowners, or rents their land in order to install the latest high tech power generation turbines and maintains them through their 20-30 year lifetime and now has over 130 operational turbines on UK farms.

“Our business involves a variety of roles and requires a mix of experience, from surveying and planning, through technology and engineering to account management and sales. In April we will have twice the space in our new office just across the road,” added Mr Woodward.

News

We’re Backing The Big 60,000

Small energy production is growing more and more popular, with many communities and businesses investing in small scale wind power. Already 80% of community energy schemes include wind power, with the help of the government funded FiT tariff, which provides financial support for renewable energy.

Onshore wind is the most cost effective source of renewable energy in the UK and Earthmill is focussed on making distributed wind an accessible option for as many British farmers and landowners as possible. As the windiest country in the UK, it makes perfect sense for UK landowners to take advantage of this freely available natural resource.

One of the best things about generating renewable energy through farm scale wind turbines is that the power is obtained and used locally. By producing power on the site where it’s needed, even a small turbine can make a huge impact on the power consumption around that site. Plus, every turbine is sympathetically sited and rigorously tested using imaging software to keep the impact on the environment and landscape minimal.

Going forward UK businesses are going to be coming under more and more pressure to drive down their carbon footprint.  By generating their own energy on-site, businesses can significantly decrease their reliance on non-sustainable power, the rising cost of energy and their carbon footprint.

With the FiT tariff set to begin decreasing in April this year, there will be less financial support available for prospective wind farmers. To support the Big 60,000 campaign and help to appeal the decrease of the FiTs tariff you can add your signature to the petition here.