Wind Turbine FAQ's

What about Windspeed.

The average annual windspeed is the most important factor in the selection of an appropriate site for a wind turbine. Your annual windspeed can be found by using the following link: http://www.berr.gov.uk/energy/sources/renewables/explained/wind/windspeed-database/page27708.html .Unless you know your correct grid address you will have to use the multimap postcode to grid index calculator, please call us if you need any help with this.

To achieve good yield from your investment in a turbine you will need about 4.8m/s annual windspeed but this also needs to be a steady flow of breeze and not gusty turbulent wind. The turbine rotor will need to be about 6m above the nearest obstacle (trees, buildings etc) for a 50m radius. A turbine sited too low will never reach its output guidance figures.

The power available from a turbine increases by the cube of the wind velocity multiplied by the swept area of the blade. This means that a 1mph increase in wind speed will give 3 times the amount of power available, this is why the siting is of paramount importance.

New Generation Energy will help you with this and with our on site anemometer equipment we can monitor marginal sites to assess their potential.

Available Space

Wind turbine towers come in various configurations from standalone monopoles to tilt up monopoles, guyed, lattice etc. For the erection of turbines access will be required by vehicles the size of a JCB. On some of the standalone towers cranes will be required so please think about your site access etc, please contact us with any questions. As a general rule twice the length of the mast will be needed.

Planning Permission

Wind turbines will need planning approval and thankfully permission should be easier as the government has made commitments to ensure councils give permission, unless there are credible objections rather than the "not in my back yard" complaints.

New Generation Energy will help you with your planning application to ensure that your application gets treated fairly on its first review with your local planners.

Battery system or Grid Tie

For the remote user without mains power batteries are the ideal solution for energy storage. For those with mains power available we advise a grid tied system which is simple, reliable and more cost effective. Should there be a power cut the grid tie inverter will isolate any power generation from the national grid for safety. Systems with grid tie inverters need authorisation from your local DNO (district national operator), we can help you with this.

Batteries will add a significant cost to a RE system and they will need care and attention to ensure optimum performance and lifetime, so careful thought needs to be made when deciding on what system to install.

Installation

The turbine foundations will need to be laid as per the specification from the turbine manufacturer and will need about two weeks to cure prior to the main turbine erection. Depending on your location it may be more practical for this service to be contracted to a local groundwork's company who are happy to work to the supplied specification. Once the groundworks are complete your turbine should be installed and producing electricity within one week.

All turbines that New Generation Energy supply have a life expectancy of 20 to 25years minimum. Turbine warranties are dependent on the manufacturer, this can be discussed at the design stage. We also offer service contract plans that will give you peace of mind in the event of any problems.

What Next..

Should you wish to proceed please fill in the "Energy requirement worksheet" or if you have your last twelve months utility bills these will suffice. Also there is a brief site assessment guide that should provide us with enough information to see if your site is suitable for wind generation prior to undertaking a site survey.