First wind turbine installed at UK fire station » Environment » 24dash.com

The first wind turbine to be installed at a UK fire station will be unveiled today.

The rooftop turbine will produce about 8% of the annual electricity needs of Hayes fire station in West London.

"Energy issues are a key priority within the Brigade and we already have a number of schemes in place to help reduce the impact of our operations on the environment," said Valerie Shawcross, chairwoman of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority.

"The financial and environmental benefits to generating your own clean energy are clearly numerous and the turbine's sustainable design means it will hopefully become carbon and energy positive within four years."

Ian Shaw, London Fire Brigade's energy manager, added: "The turbine is designed to be easily connected to your local electricity grid so that the energy generated is offset directly against your electricity consumption, thus directly saving money.

"In environmental terms, this means that each unit of electricity generated from the turbine displaces one unit generated from fossil fuels with the advantage that the electricity is consumed on site, thus negating losses from transmission."

Copyright Press Association 2006