UK • Wind Power For Every Home

2018 and Beyond in Wind

While we may be more preoccupied with snow and cold rather than wind at the moment in Europe and the States, it’s well worth taking stock of where we are and where we want to go, and how sure we are of getting there! Before we look at Europe and Denmark in particular, let’s pop over… Read the rest

The Calming Effects of Wind Turbines

In the debates about the environmental effects of wind farms and wind turbines, it’s unfortunate that a lot of media coverage is given to those that see them as a blight on the land and the offshore seascapes; towering monstrosities of evening sunlight deflection and distracting noise. many of these people have never been near a… Read the rest

Scottish First Minister Demands Certainty for Offshore Wind

Scotland has an abundance of wind both onshore and offshore, and has many onshore wind farms that are contributing to Scotland’s green future, such as Whitelee wind farm in East Renfrewshire – Scotland’s largest onshore development. But the First Minister for Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, is concerned that the UK government budget allocation for offshore wind is… Read the rest

GEV Show Innovative Wind Turbine Maintenance Rig

As anyone involved in wind power knows, one of the more expensive and time-consuming parts of the business is maintenance of the tower, nacelle and most importantly the blades of a wind turbine. Climbing up the inside of a wind turbine mast (or worse still, the outside for older masts) can be a pain- and there… Read the rest

UK’s Renewable Energy Foundations Report Causes Controversy

The UK’s Renewable Energy Foundation’s recent online report on renewable energy performance in the UK has provoked a storm of controversy. The report’s authors interpret their findings in a way which RenewableUK find biased, although there is no accusation that the figures themselves are wrong. Here are some of the key findings: Wind and solar farms… Read the rest

In a Small Rural Corner of England, Wind Power is Enthusiastically Embraced

You can’t get more rural than the village of Gorran High Lanes, Cornwall, South West England. If you believe the British press and fossil fuel lobby, you’d be forgiven for believing that this would be the heart of NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) and that the mere whiff of an idea to erect an onshore… Read the rest

Wind versus Fracking: The Debate Continues…

In a carefully calculated move to switch opposition to fracking to opposition to wind turbines the UK energy department’s recently-gone chief scientific advisor has claimed that a wind farm requires 700 times more land to produce the same amount of energy as a fracking site. Prof David MacKay, pictured right in the picture above, stood down… Read the rest

Green Investment Bank Plans to Get the Wind Up!

The government’s Edinburgh-based Green Investment Bank (Gib) has announced plans to raise £1bn to encourage new investors to put money into offshore wind farms. The bank has said that it is seeking long-term investors for a fund that will be managed by a subsidiary. That subsidiary would buy equity stakes in wind farms already in operation.… Read the rest

From Coal to Wind- Small Investors Welcomed!

Former coal collieries in England are about to have new life breathed in them. At Duckmanton near Chesterfield, the site of the former Markham Colliery will see a 500kw wind turbine- planning permission has already been granted. A second 500kw turbine is planned between Grimethorpe and Cudworth and will be called the Shafton turbine. Grimethorpe colliery… Read the rest

Success of UK Wind Turbine Blade Maintenance Specialists

The UK is hoping to produce 15% of all its energy from renewable sources by 2020 to try to cut climate-warming emissions. While the debate about onshore versus offshore wind farms continues, the wind energy industry is fuelling a remarkable growth for a Great Yarmouth (on the East coast of England) company which has taken on… Read the rest