A new Carbon Trust study into the potential of small-scale wind energy has found that small wind turbines could provide up to 1.5 Terawatt Hours (TWh) per year of electricity and 0.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (MtCO2) emission savings.

This is based on 10% of households installing turbines at costs competitive with grid electricity, which is currently around 12p per kWh.

The study also indicates that for the UK as a whole, the majority of electricity and carbon savings are available from small turbines in rural areas - four times as much as urban areas irrespective of costs, and considerably more given economic drivers. This is mainly due to wind speeds generally being higher in rural areas. Turbines in some rural locations could provide cheaper electricity than the grid, but it appears that in many urban situations, roof-mounted turbines may not pay back their embedded carbon emissions.


The report will also interest businesses and public sector organisations, in giving practical advice about how to evaluate the suitability of sites for small turbines.

Commenting on the report, Dr Mark Williamson, Director of Carbon Trust Innovations, said: "Small-scale wind energy is attracting growing interest, and at the Carbon Trust we are receiving increasing enquiries from organisations considering installing small turbines. It's vital that people understand the wind resources available to them, and we hope they find the guidance in our report useful.

"As one of a number of microgeneration technologies with a role to play in our future energy supply, we also believe it is essential that government policies and public funding encourage carbon savings from small wind turbines most effectively. This is why we're making recommendations about grant support and planning."

Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks, said: "Small-scale power generation like wind turbines can turn the concerned individual in to an active citizen in the fight against climate change. We are currently working to ease the planning rules for small wind turbines so more homeowners can install them with the minimum of fuss.

"The Carbon Trust's report provides useful advice on the potential of micro-wind. We will use these findings as we develop our policies to dramatically increase the amount of energy the UK generates from renewable sources."

(CD/JM)