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Wind turbines on homes in urban areas 'will lose money'
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Most small-scale wind turbines installed in towns and cities
would lose money, a study to identify the best places for the
technology has found.
The research, funded by the Energy Saving Trust (EST), said some
450,000 households could generate in excess of £2,800 worth
of electricity a year with a turbine, but only in windswept rural
locations.
The figures mean that well-placed turbines could make enough energy
to power 825,000 homes a year.
But most small-scale turbines in towns and cities would actually
lose money, the study discovered, with some generating as little as
£26 of energy a year.
The results show that the performance of domestic wind turbines is
highly dependent upon location and proper installation of the
technology.
The year-long research, conducted by scientists at the University
of Southampton, involved 57 locations, ranging from south-west
England to the Orkney Islands.
It tested a range of turbines that fell within two categories:
building-mounted and larger free-standing pole-mounted.
Dr Patrick James, who led the study, said: "Based on the study and
with current technology, it is estimated that around 450,000 UK
householders would benefit from installing a domestic small-scale
wind turbine with the optimal geographic areas being rural
locations in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
"This represents a UK potential energy generation of 3,250 gigawatt
hour (GWh) from domestic small-scale wind turbines; equivalent to
the amount of electricity required to power 825,000 households per
year.
"Pole-mounted wind turbines located in the most open rural parts of
Scotland proved to deliver the greatest results, saving in excess
of £2,000 and 7,500kg of carbon dioxide annually.
"The results show that no urban or suburban sites with a
building-mounted turbine generated more than 200kWh (or £26
of electricity) per annum, but the best performing building-mounted
turbine, located in a rural area of Scotland, generated nearly
1,000kWh (or £127 of electricity) per annum.
"Larger free-standing pole-mounted turbines, sited in rural
locations, could generate in excess of 18,000kWh (or £2,300)
per annum."
