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Thinking about installing a wind turbine? Do it now!
Installing a wind turbine is a great investment…
The advantages of installing a wind turbine are myriad. Access to clean energy, multiple avenues of potential additional income and carbon footprint reduction are some of the main ones. So what’s the big hurry? The simple fact of the matter is that there will never be a more advantageous time to go about installing a wind turbine than now. Here are some of the main reasons:
Feed in Tariff
One of the major incentives for installing green energy generation devices such as wind turbines is the government Feed in Tariff initiative, or ‘FiTs’. FiTs are a government reward scheme whereby you will be awarded a financial reward for every unit of clean energy your produce – and what’s more, it doesn’t matter whether you use the energy yourself or sell it back to the National Grid, you still get the FiTs. The current rate for small and medium sized wind turbines is around £0.21 per kWh, so if you generate 25,000kWh in a month you’ll receive £5,250. FiTs are index linked and payable for the next twenty years at the rate which was in effect when you registered.
However, like most good things FiTs will not last forever. The FiTs rate will be dropping in April 2014 and will continue to drop incrementally following that. That may seem like a long way away, however getting planning permission for a wind turbine can be a lengthy process, especially if you have to enter the appeals process. In order to take advantage of the current FiT before it drops we’re strongly recommending that prospective turbine owners begin the process as soon as possible.
Prospective turbine owners who have planning permission and an excepted firm quote from the distribution network by December can pre-register with Ofgem to receive the current level of FiTs. If you miss this deadline then your turbine must physically go in the ground, be commissioned and registered before April in order to qualify for the current FiT rate.
Grid Line Capacity
Wind turbines are becoming more popular and an increasingly common sight on the land. Each turbine must be connected to the National Grid via local power lines. Grid lines have a maximum power capacity and in many areas these lines have or are reaching that maximum capacity – this means that no more power sources (in our case, wind turbines) can be connected. To gain the go ahead for your turbine your local grid lines must have enough spare capacity available and this is filling up rapidly.
To find out if your site is suitable for installing a wind turbine you can request a complimentary site assessment from Earthmill. Click here to find out more.