Wind Turbines for Farms
Farmers have harnessed the wind for hundreds of years, using it to mill grain, pump water and saw wood in Europe since the 12th century. Rain and sunshine will always be vital to farming, but to modern farmers, the role of wind has almost been forgotten. We believe it plays a more important role than ever.
Farming in the 21st century carries significant challenges. They include rising diesel costs, battles with supermarkets over milk pricing and unseasonal weather brought on by climate change. And all of these have to be dealt with while trying to feed a growing population.
Benefits of wind turbines for farms
Diversification, the government have set up grant schemes and interest free loans to aid Farmers in using the new technology of microgeneration to build an infrastructure across the country to help reach the reduction in our carbon footprint by 20% in 2020.
The BWEA has predicted that Farms could both benefit and contribute to the 1.7tkW predicted by BWEA and the Energy Trust from 156,000 new turbines erections in the next 10 years.
Financial
The introduction of the Feed in Tariff (FiT) scheme in April 2010 has led to a surge in interest from those looking to make renewable energy a viable financial investment. The generation tariff pays you an above market rate for solely generating green energy. If you don't use this energy and sell it back to the grid, you will be paid the export tariff. Alternatively you may use the energy you generate and save money on your electicity bills. For more information of how FiT's work please visit the Energy Saving Trust website here.
Environmental
The UK is on a program to de-commission Coal Fired Generation stations by 2015 decreasing the UK generating capacity by 15%.
It's accepted that wind is an variable sourse of generation, however they provide clean carbon free energy with no polution whatsoever.
Erection of a turbine is just a matter of days and de-commissioning is a similar time at the end of its life. Most of the components are either recyclable or reusable. SUT wind Turbines and Ghrepower Energy are low speed rotation and therefore quiet operation.
Commercial
Just as organic farming has grown new branches of business in recent years, so too can farming with green energy and environmental conservation at its heart.
Which wind turbine is best for me?
A full technical survey of your farm’s land, taking into account your electricity usage, average wind speed and capacity to supply surplus energy to your local grid is the definitive way for us to help you choose the right rural wind turbine.
However, the following models should provide you with a general guide. Both SUT and Ghrepower turbines use modern robust grid friendly Inverter systems to ensure the grid is not over loaded. Both turbines a Class 2 machines suitable for sites with Average Mean Wind Speed of 8.5 m/s.