Wind Energy
The individual self builder
For the individual self builder, wind energy will seldom be a viable choice. This is because the payback time on a wind generator depends on there being an ample supply of wind and a situation for the generator in which it can receive an unobstructed flow of wind from any direction. ‘Ample wind’ means the sort of place where there are few lulls in the wind, ideally you have to lean into it 24/7 for most of the year. ‘Unobstructed’ ideally means no buildings, or woods nearby and situated on top of a hill. Probably one of the worst places for a wind generator is attached to your gable end or chimney in town. There is constant turbulence around the roof of a house, cities are usually sheltered and the noise and vibration is likely to annoy, if not destabilize your walls. See Building for a Future - page 48
One of the exceptions to the above might be if you are off grid and have no other means of generating electricity. There are also developments in the pipeline for a more integrated approach to domestic generation in the form of Power Collective’s Ridgblade. This is a cylinder tubine monted along the ridge of a building’s roof. This should be worth keeping an eye on.
However, if you do live in a windy spot and you have space to erect a tower, it may be worth getting a survey done by a specialist company such as Sun and Wind. This may involve them setting up an anemometer to measure the wind speed for a year to make sure it is worth while. Neighbours can be hostile to proposed wind generators at the town planning stage.
Community wind power
This can indeed be a profitable option. An interesting example is the village of Fintry in Sterlingshire where they have invested in a large generator and are ploughing the income from it back into improving the insulation of the local housing. See the heraldscotland article
The Findhorn Foundation at Fores has 4 large wind generators which supply all of the community’s needs with surplus electricity exported into the grid
Another interesting community based wind project is at the Hockerton Housing earth sheltered housing development. They actually have a link to a ‘duel of the generators’ where you can see the output of two of their generatorsn compared.
Having been so negative about small scale generation it is best to say that there are some excellent small scale generators around. See, for instance, Wind and Sun’s examples. Also, there is the added factor of the likelyhood of there being a generous ‘feed-in’ tariff soon. This is where you get paid for selling your surplus electricity into the national grid. The tarrif will probably be a factor of what you pay to buy your electricity, possible three times the price. At present, in Germany, the factor is five times and this has led to a strong surge in investment in wind power.
The Energy Saving Trust has a wind speed calculator based on postcode. It might be useful as an initial guide to viability of generating your own electricity from wind.
