Wind Turbines

This is all about harnessing wind energy, with wind turbines for the domestic market. Apparently David Cameron (Tory leader of the Opposition) is having a wind generator put on his London house*, so we decided to investigate the feasibility of such a venture.

The wind turbine, or domestic wind turbine in this case, has these terms associated with it:

small wind turbine - small enough to go on the side or roof of a house
wind turbine blades - must be able to withstand the harsh British climate
wind turbine manufacturers - not that many!
wind turbine power - how much power can a wind turbine produce (eg, 15 kw wind turbine, 1kw wind turbine)
wind farms
offshore wind farm

* He hasn't had much luck actually! Having finally had it erected on the side of his house, he's been told to take it down again because it's installed incorrectly!

Background Information

[15 March 2006 20:34]
Here are some pages that outline the costs and practicalities of domestic wind turbines.

A Wind and Wind Power Report from the Iowa Energy Center gives technical descriptions of wind power, and what affects it, plus how to measure it.
Green Living (James Lea, June 2005) analyses the cost and comes up with a surprising answer.
The Guardian (John Vidal, November 2003) published an article about the Windsave turbine system.
The BBC (October 2005) talks about the financials, planning considerations and how much difference it might make.
Windsave.com promotes their product, and explains a lot of safety aspects to mains-voltage electricity generation.
Eclectic Energy They are Nottingham-based and sell the D400 StealthGen, costing £875.00 plus installation costs. It only produces 40W at 10 knots.
Renewable Devices sells the Swift 1.5kW turbine, which currently costs £5000 for purchase and installation.
Proven Energy has pretty tough turbines, and gives prices and grant information for its range (starting at over £7000 for a 600W (@12m/s) mast-mounted grid-connect installation.
WindTrap.co.uk has a budget wind turbine kit (under £500) that's designed to store excess electricity in batteries, which then power the mains through an invertor. This would save electricity, but wouldn't put excess electricity back into the Grid.
The Energy Saving Trust has a section on Domestic Electricity generation.
The British Wind Energy Association explains the different types of Small Wind Technology, and how to get started.
Wind and Sun Ltd has loads of practical advice and a highly confusing price list.
The Solar Energy Alliance has prices on various scales of wind turbine. They're based in Lowestoft, Suffolk.
Homemade Wind Turbines Forum - quite quiet, but worth a look.
A to Z Generators A wind turbine generator resource.

Here are some details of Small Systems Suppliers from the BWEA website:

Company	Phone	Membership type
Ampair (Boost Energy Systems)	01344 303 311	Correspondent	website	email	more info
Brumac Wind Systems Ltd	01561378899	Correspondent	website	email	more info
Chalcroft Construction	01386 561965	Company	website	email	more info
Econcern	+31 30 2808300	Company	website	email	more info
Iskra Wind Turbine Manufacturers Limited	0845 838 0588	Correspondent	website	email	more info
Marlec Engineering Co Ltd	01536 201 588	Correspondent	website	email	more info
Proven Energy Limited	01560 485 570	Correspondent	website	email	more info
Renewable Devices Ltd	0131 535 3301	Company	website	email	more info
Segen Ltd	01252 401025	Correspondent	website	email	more info
Windsave Ltd	0141 4207400	Company	website	email	more info
XCO2 / Quiet Revolution	020 7700 1000	Correspondent	website	email	more info

Feed-in Tariffs (FITs) for existing installations
[14 February 2010 08:47]
Early adopters of electricity micro-generation are set to be kicked in the teeth, will miss out on decent new tariffs. If you feel that this ...
Saboteur Gets Knife In Back
[18 January 2010 23:10]
The saboteur that viciously brought down the Unity Wind Weather Mast at the end of last year must be really, really gutted now. Their actions ...
North Walsham Met Mast Is Up!
[25 October 2009 12:26]
We got ourselves into the EDP (Eastern Daily Press) this Saturday, as the weather mast for the North Walsham wind turbine project was erected ...

I Killed the Bird said the Wind Turbine
[03 June 2009 11:55]
This is the first time (in around a year and a half of operation) that we've seen any sign of death to bird life due to our wind turbine. ...
Wind Farm Radar Problems May Have Solution
[14 February 2009 12:39]
Cambridge Consultants (Cleantec) believes it has developed a solution to 'radar blindness' caused by wind turbines. Existing radar systems ...
Red Tape Blowing In The Wind
[02 January 2009 12:24]
Windfarms are being held up by red tape. This is according to the British Wind Energy Association (BWEA) as reported in the Guardian on 29 December ...

Vertical Axis DIY Wind Turbine
[07 January 2008 20:43]
OneToRemember has a free-to-download set of plans for a vertical axis wind turbine. In only five or six hours you should have a turbine that ...
WS-1000 Keeps Cutting Out
[22 February 2008 10:52]
These videos show how our wind turbine starts spinning up really well, then almost instantly stops dead again. It definitely looks like the ...
Wind 'could power all UK homes'
[10 December 2007 16:50]
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk_politics/7135930.stm All UK homes could be powered by offshore wind farms by 2020, under plans unveiled ...

Close-ups of the WS-1000
[09 December 2007 15:54]
Here are some pictures of the WS-1000 Wind Turbine, taken quite close up to show the anti-vibration mounts more clearly.

The WS-1000 is Installed
[15 October 2007 18:59]
The Mark Group has finally installed our wind turbine. Two men (initially only one) used a cherry picker hoist to bolt a large metal frame to ...
Stream 1 Grants: Trying to Apply
[29 May 2007 09:28]
Our experience of trying to apply for the new round of Stream 1 grants has not been fruitful so far. In our application for a wind turbine, ...
Low Carbon Householder Grants Re-Launched!
[12 May 2007 12:23]
As heard on This week the government announced it will start paying grants again for home owners who want to fit them. The DTI Low Carbon Buildings ...
Low Carbon Grants Suspended
[01 April 2007 08:20]
The Government has shown its 'support' for low carbon initiatives by suspending the grants system for it. Since an extra £6m was announced ...

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Julii is finishing up work as an Environmental Economics Researcher at the University of East Anglia to give more time to the children.

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