We have recently completed the installation of a Ryse Energy E-5 wind turbine near Alford, Lincolnshire. Whilst Matt and I carried out most of the construction and installation work, we had Ryse engineers on site with us for the final installation and connection.
The turbine has a maximum power of 5.5kW and a rated power of 4kW. It's mounted on a 9m hinged monopole, which makes installation and servicing significantly easier. Key to the output of any turbine is the location (topography and average wind speed) plus the height of the mounting pole. There were some restrictions applied to this installation with the planning consent, which limited the overall height to 12m.
The manufacturer, Ryse Energy, stated that this unit should produce around 6,900kWh/year with an average wind speed of 5m/s, which is the stated average for this postcode. We will keep a record of the generation and let you know about its performance.
This turbine supplements on-site PV generation with battery storage and so, as an overall package, will go a long way to covering the customer's annual electricity usage.
Is a wind turbine a viable option for everyone? Electricity usage, location and average wind speed are key to making this decision. For the following examples, I have used 24p per kWh import as a starting point with 2% and 4% inflation per year over the 20 years. I haven't included annual servicing charges in the calculations.
Looking at the E-5 over a 20-year period, if it's located with an average of 5m/s clean wind speed, it should generate around 138,000kWh. If the property uses all of the electricity generated, this could represent a saving of around £40,000. If the average wind speed is 7m/s, the turbine would generate a profit of over £40,000 over the 20 years. If standard electricity prices increase by 4%/year, the profit would increase to over £60,000.
Looking at the G-11 over a 20-year period, if it's located with an average of 5m/s clean wind speed, it should generate around 138,000kWh. If the property uses all of the electricity generated, his could represent a saving of around £160,374. If the average wind speed is 7m/s, the turbine would generate a profit of over £170,000 over the 20 years. If standard electricity prices increase by 4%/year, the profit would increase to over £230,000.
So, it really does boil down to the amount of electricity used by the property and the location of the proposed installation.
The following provides a little more detail on the effect obstructions have on disturbing the wind flow. When surveying a potential installation site, the key is the location in relation to hills and obstructions such as buildings and trees. The following diagram, taken from FuturEnergy literature illustrates the impact obstructions have on creating wind flow disturbance:
To avoid wind disturbance, the turbine needs to be situated a distance 20 times the height of the disturbance away from the disturbance, or be mounted on a pole twice the height of the disturbance. So, an average two-storey house will disturb the wind for a distance of 180m downstream of the wind direction.
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