The government’s small wind subsidy proposals have created a £50,000 bonus for the ’quickest off their feet’, says Glasgow based farm scale turbine manufacturer Gaia-Wind.
The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) have proposed a reduction in the feed-in-tariff (FiT) from 28p to 21p per kWh from October 2012, Gaia-Wind CEO Johnnie Andringa said. However, for those considering a small wind turbine the window of opportunity has never been open so wide.
"Customers who order their small wind turbines in time to get into planning before May this year will fix their FiT rate at current tariff levels, earning them at least £53,000* more over the 20 year life of their turbine."
"The proposed 25% reduction rate will come into effect in October 2012, so turbines installed and registered with the electricity supplier before October will receive the full FiT rates of 28p per kWh. But to achieve this date turbines will have to be in the planning process by the beginning of May. Gaia-Wind is gearing up our sales and support teams to help customers to get through the hoops needed to do this."
Andringa continued:
"The proposed level of the cut in the FiT of 25% from one month to the next is extreme and is a far cry from the gradual degression presented by the government and previously understood by manufacturers developing in the small wind segment.
These cuts are too much too soon and we are telling DECC as much but in the meantime our team are working flat out to service those customers who want to get the £50,000 plus benefit of speedy action.
But FiT rates are not the whole story: The recent Power Predictor 2021 survey predicts wholesale electricity prices will rise by at least 40% over the next ten years. So in addition to tariff payments, your turbine will provide a hedge against ever increasing energy bills. Gaia-Wind owners also benefit through being able to use their own energy generated in their own home or business, then selling any surplus back to the grid."
Designed for areas with an average annual wind speeds of between 10-17mph (4.5-7.5 m/s), the 133-11kW is ideally suited to sites with large open spaces such as farms, rural properties and rural businesses. The large rotor allows the turbine to capture much more energy from the wind than similarly rated machines, delivering higher electricity production. The turbines helped Gaia-Wind sweep the board in the annual survey of US small wind turbine industry professionals published in 2011, achieving the best rating of the top 24 turbines available in the US.
