Recently OFGEM announced a surprise 10% cut in the FITS subsidy for onshore wind turbines bringing the prevailing rate for “mid size” turbines down from 14.82p to 13.34p per kilowatt-hour. Add this to the “perverse” (as some commentators have described it) interference of Eric Pickles in the appeal system and the Tory mantra “wind bad, gas good, fracked gas better” and it would appear like death by a thousand cuts. There will almost certainly wind turbine applications that after years of delay getting though planning may be popping out with full permission only find the banks will no longer lend or the project is just no longer financially viable.
Is this the end for mid-scale wind in the UK?
An ever reducing subsidy will tend to push the larger developers and manufacturers towards the areas with the highest wind speeds and the least hostile planning regimes. For everyone else the options would appear much more limited, however this is where distgen’s in-house experience with the full project lifecycle including the use of refurbished wind turbines comes into its own.
Over the past few years we’ve been quietly getting on with developing our own sites with Vestas V39 and V52 500kW wind turbines – fully OFGEM FITS accredited and commissioned at typically half the cost of a brand new machine. Not only that but we’ve been paving the way for innovative community rewards and external crowd-sourced investment funding.
Our conclusion
If you own some land and are interested in a wind turbine do not be put off! It’s still possible to offset your CO2 emissions, take control of your energy costs, give something back to the local community and do something good for the planet.
Why not give us a call today to see if we can help develop your interest into reality?