Wind Power as an Alternative Energy solution
Wind energy offers a real opportunity for domestic and small commercial users to save money on their electricity bills and become less dependent on the national grid - all the while also doing one's bit to reduce carbon emmissions and go green. Granted, there is of course an initial investment in the equipment (which can in part be offset against tax) and you have to make the right choice in your turbine (not all products are what they purport to be).
Fossil-energy-based electricity bills are high and you are completely at the mercy of the power generator. The cost of wind turbine energy as a power-source is nothing - and the cost of installing and connecting a turbine is steadily coming down as demand rises and more stable commercial success is realized by the wind-turbine manufacturers and researching technologies to make them ever more efficient.
More and more people are beginning to move away from sole dependence on the national grid. As the article "Alternative energy for the home" identified, there is a mixture of drivers behind this. It is stick and carrot. Part of the "stick" is pressure on costs and the high price of fossil-based fuels and in part it is politically motivated as the events of the last decade have shown a shift of fossil fuel dependence away from home shores (e.g. North Sea Oil) to less accountable and reliable sources (Eastern Europe and the Middle East).
The "Carrot" on offer in part it is conscience-driven (stewardship of the environment) but the real allure is cheaper bills and tax incentives for domestic and commercial users to adopt green energy sources and power-saving electrical appliances and gain further cost reductions. I think people also like the retro overtones of this "throw-back" to pre-industrial use of windmills as power sources - and the paradox that we now call fossil fuels "traditional" energy. Windmills in the shape of modern turbines are the "new" alternative energy and I think people quite like that paradox!
In the USA, in at least thirty states now, homeowners who remain on the grid but who still choose to use wind energy (or other green energy sources) are eligible for rebates or tax breaks from the state governments that reimburse up to as much as 50% of their total “green” energy systems' outlay. In addition, there are at least 35 states where homeowners are allowed to sell their excess energy back to the power company under what are called “net metering laws”. The rates paid by the local power companies for this energy are standard retail energy rates—in other words, the homeowners are actually profiting from their own energy production and power companies are being ethical about the sell-back prices. The UK still lags behind the United States and Europe in this respect both in terms of tax legislation as well as the attitudes of power companies unwilling to forego short term profits for longer-term restructuring and adoption of tomorrow's energy model. But this is altering quickly, and indeed according to the Carbon Trust, the picture is beginning to be forced on them by circumstance.
Wind energy was an obvious choice for adoption by the home and small commercial market because of its ease of installation; the relative discreetness of the turbines over solar panels, for example, and the ever reducing price of wind-turbine equipment and installation. But wind power is a natural choice in the UK and it provides a quality and reliable source of energy. The only caution we would inject into this euphoria is to be careful what you buy. There are very good turbines on the market and also very poor ones. Green Energy (Eu) Ltd can advise and recommend choice of wind turbines to avoid you wasting your money and losing faith in renewalbles due to false starts.
About the Author: Mike Howard, Director of Green Energy (Eu) is a rapidly-emerging expert in the field of Green Energy and power-saving electrical products for the home and office. With more than twenty years experience in top-end building Mike is sole UK distributor of the renowned Redwell Infrared Heating systems.
Let Green Energy (Eu) help you with your energy saving choice.
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