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Renewables Options Appraisal

If you are serious about investing in Renewable Energy Technologies it is wise to undertake am Options Appraisal. A quick search on Google will tell you that at £0.03/KWh onshore wind is perhaps the cheapest renewable energy option (as of 2019).

Unfortunately (as with all things) it is not quite a easy as that. So having shown that wind is the best option . . . . (the first two points below also apply to large solar farms).

Planning

To obtain planning permission for an onshore wind turbine is no mean feat. In fact it is rather difficult even in a wind turbine rich area like Cornwall, you can expect an uphill struggle, with assessments for Noise, Visual and Landscape as well as Flicker and perhaps Radar Interface. The planning authority will probably get you to reduce the height of your turbine, and so you will not get as much wind. 

Grid Capacity

A large 500kw wind turbine is a very large "chunk" of energy to be fed in to the grid. The local grid may not take this massive inputs, and you may have to pay for upgrades. In some cases even very large cross country transfer infrastructure is overloaded at peak times, and so a large single point input might not be acceptable.

Setting

Urban, Valley, Forest settings are unlikely to be favorable location for wind turbines , turbulence created by building for example reduce the output of the turbine and lengthen the pay off period.

Renewables form Wind is Bad Then?

No wind is not bad (then) it is the "best" provided you have the right spot for it. The renewable options appraisal will look in to whether you have the right spot.

Roof Top Solar

Yes. There is nearly always scope for roof top solar. A roof top solar array can start at 5kw, doesn't need planning permission (normally) and will work on pretty much any roof, provided it is not overshadowed.

What we Do

SWEL can undertake an appraisal on your behalf we can check for likely hood of planning success, grid capacity, connection costs, wind speed, insolation, and tell you the best option. We can also take things a step further managing the costing and installation of the renewable energy infrastructure, and co-coordinating the entire project.

Call an office for a no obligation discussion!