News that land is expected to reach almost £50,000/hectare (£20,000/acre) by 2020 is a double-edged sword for the farming industry – and for our PR beyond it.
Wind turbine on every farm 'within five years'
WIND power expert Mark Newton believes every farm in the UK will have a wind turbine in five years’ time.
Commenting on the announcement of a free guide from Farming Futures, Mr Newton said the guide outlined how landowners could assess their wind resource, what they need to consider when putting together a planning proposal, and where they can go for advice.
Madeleine Lewis from Farming Futures said, “Producing energy on-farm can turn a profit and provide renewable energy.”
FARMING FUTURES
- An industry-led collaborative project between the NFU, CLA, AIC, AHDB (on behalf of the agricultural and horticultural levy boards), Forum for the Future and Defra.
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Readers' comments (14)
Meinir Jones | 2 February 2010 12:19 pm
Peg i ynni gwynt eitem Ffermio o bosibl?
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John Lyon | 2 February 2010 1:05 pm
It will only turn a profit if the electricity produced is priced at an artificially high price. The whole AGW thing is being exposed at a scam yet farmers and others are still being encouraged to buy into this elaborate ponsy scheme where money taken off of everybody's electricity bill goes to pay for useless windmills!
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marguerite moore | 2 February 2010 2:20 pm
wave power is surely a better alternative to wind, waves are a constant thing, wind is erratic
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Anonymous | 2 February 2010 4:17 pm
Expensive, inefficient & a blight on the landscape. Once the bubble has burst Framers will be left with these huge white elephants & the bill for either getting rid of them or the huge maintenance costs to keep them running.
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Anonymous | 2 February 2010 8:29 pm
wind turbines work every farm should have one . I know we use one to provide all our electricity.
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Anonymous | 4 February 2010 11:49 am
Has anyone accurately estimated how much energy is needed to create a wind turbine in the first instance?
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Anonymous | 9 February 2010 12:10 pm
People should consider wind turbines as an investment - the FiT guarantees an income for 20 years; a 50kW Coemi Skywing, for example, would provide over £250,000 profit in this time. Don't knock turbines until you know all the facts!
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Anonymous | 9 February 2010 7:00 pm
The cost of a 50kw Coemi Turbine is £159,950. If this was invested at a rate of 4.5% for 20 years it would produce a profit of £225,803.66
Even in these times of recession it should be possible to get more than 4.5% if you commit to investing for a period of time.
At 6% the profit would be £ £353,031.32.
At the end of this period you will still have all of your money not a worn out relic of a turbine.
Coemi appear to base their predicted output on 27% of the maximum possible. How many sites will actually produce that amount?
As the income from the turbine may well be less than predicted due to the vagaries of the wind coupled with servicing and/or repair costs I would think very carefully before investing my money.
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David Colquhoun | 12 February 2010 1:14 pm
Some good comments - and some weird ones! The point is: ALL GREEN ENERGY IS GOOD, if we can save on CO2. Being "economic" is irrelevant; it does NOT take into account all hidden costs. Government schemes must tax carbon and convey this money to energy sources for the good of us all. Already the future is very bleak (re food, land, water). Natural energy at least offers some hope; oil energy offers us none.
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Martin | 12 February 2010 8:08 pm
Some wind turbines do work. The new Evoco 10 is the biggest producer of its size. Suitable for farm or small domestic, £38,000 installed, in an average wind speed it will produce 40,000kW/h per annum with a payback of under 4 years. I am looking for one myself but I am being very careful what I buy and have been waiting for the new feed in tariff to be released
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