Wind turbines

Wind turbines harness the power of the wind and use it to generate electricity. When the wind blows, the blades are forced round, driving a turbine that generates electricity. The stronger the wind, the more electricity produced.

There are two types of domestic-sized wind turbine:

• Pole mounted – these are free standing and are erected in a suitably exposed position, with generation capacity around 6kW.
• Building mounted – these are smaller than mast mounted systems and can be installed on the roof of a home where there is a suitable wind resource. Often these are around 2kW in size.

The cost of a system will depend on the size and the mounting method. Building-mounted turbines cost less to install than pole-mounted ones, but they tend to be smaller and less efficient.

For equipment and installation, a 6kW pole-mounted system costs around £35,000.

A well-sited 6kW turbine can generate around 9,000kWh a year, which could save you around £440 a year on your electricity bills*. The renewable energy generated could also save around 2,000kg of carbon dioxide a year.

*Savings and SEG payments assume household occupants are out all day until 4pm. Savings will vary depending on household occupancy pattern.

You may be able to claim Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) payments for any surplus electricity you export to the grid. The Smart Export Guarantee replaced the previous Feed-in Tariff, which closed to new applications at the end of March 2019.

A well-sited 6kW pole mounted turbine could typically earn about £870 per year in SEG payments.

Maintenance checks are necessary every few years, and will generally cost around £100 – £200 per year depending on turbine size.

A well-maintained turbine should last more than 20 years, but you may need to replace the inverter at some stage during this time, at a cost of around £1,000 – £2,000 for a large system.

For off grid systems, batteries will also need replacing, typically every six to 10 years. The cost of replacing batteries varies depending on the design and scale of the system.

Any backup generator will also have its own fuel and maintenance costs.

If you live in Scotland, you can read case studies of homeowners who’ve installed wind turbines on the Green Homes Network.

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