Having spent £13,000 on installing a wind turbine at his home, John Large is disappointed at the return on his investment, which amounts to 9p a week.

At this rate, it is calculated, it will take 2,768 years for the electricity generated by the turbine to pay for itself, by which time he will be past caring about global warming.

The wind turbine was installed at the engineer’s home in Woolwich, southeast London, four weeks ago and has so far generated four kilowatts of electricity. An average household needs 23kw every day to power its lights and appliances.

Mr Large said that his difficulties highlighted the problems faced by consumers who wanted to buy wind turbines to save money and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Like many small turbines, the model owned by Mr Large puts power directly into the national grid, but the requirements of the grid mean that power can start being transferred only once blades have been turning fast enough for several minutes nonstop.

Despite the wind usually being sufficient to turn the blades of Mr Large’s turbine, it has been unable to generate a constant supply that can be put into the national grid. Unless a minimum generating capacity has been met, all the power that the turbine is capable of producing is lost.

Mr Large questioned the ability of the micro-generation industry to make clear to the general public all the pitfalls.

Highlighting the range of turbines available, the need for planning permission, the difficulties in receiving grants and the electronics that need to be installed with the mini-wind-mills, he said: “I’m an engineer and I’m generally au fait with it, but when you put all these together you get a load of huff for very little puff.”

Mr Large says that the turbine’s performance fails to match its specifications. This claim is dismissed by the manufacturer, Proven Energy, which along with the installing company, Sundog Energy, says that Mr Large ignored advice that the site was unsuitable.

Mr Large denies this claim, but he and Sundog are in agreement that more and better information about wind energy needs to be made available.

Martin Cotterill, of Sundog Energy, said that, although turbines generally worked well in exposed places, it was difficult to find suitable sites in urban areas because of turbulence and obstructions blocking the wind. He said that it was a common misconception that wind that was sufficient to make the blades go round would always generate power. “Just because a turbine is turning does not necessarily mean it’s a turbine generating,” he said.

Mr Cotterill said that the industry had been encouraged to try to establish international standards for wind turbines. Groups such as the British Wind Energy Association were trying to agree standardised data so that consumers had information on performance that was easy to understand.

He added: “There’s been a massive increase in the number of people wanting wind turbines. We take a lot of calls from people then we have to explain that it’s inappropriate for them. Solar panels are much better for an urban setting.”

Despite so little power being generated by his new turbine, Mr Large remains enthusiastic about the potential for power production by micro-generators. “I’m undaunted,” he said. “I feel like I’ve been sold a pup but it’s not a bad experience — it’s a learning experience. Maybe I was a little bit ambitious.”

Alternatives

Biogas

Methane is the main biogas. In Britain it is syphoned off from landfill sites. In China seven million people are estimated to rely on methane collected from decomposing manure as a source of energy

Tidal energy

The first large scale trial to harness the power of tidal currents in Britain began in 2003 off Devon’s coast. The Government is considering a barrage to harness the River Severn’s energy

Solar

Researchers in Germany estimated last year that there is enough sunlight in the world’s deserts to supply all the global energy requirements 1,000 times over if harnessed. They calculated that investment in solar power North Africa could supply two-third’s of Europe’s energy consumption by 2050

Source: Times database

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