Policy Hub
On 7 August 2008, the Carbon Trust published a study into the potential of wind energy (Small-scale wind energy: policy insights and practical guidance) which finds that small wind turbines can provide 0.4% per year of the UK’s total electricity consumption and achieve appreciable carbon emission savings, based on 10% of households installing turbines at costs competitive with grid electricity.
Marking the culmination of 18 months research by the Met Office and Entec, the report makes a number of recommendations to improve existing policy measures. It suggests that a criterion should be used in any new grant schemes to measure likely carbon savings to ensure grants are awarded to installations which save reasonable amounts of carbon.
In addition, the report argues that higher height limits for stand-alone turbines should be allowed under permitted development rights in order to maximise the overall carbon savings of small-scale wind energy, given the sensitivity of electricity generation to height.
Small-scale wind energy: policy insights and practical guidance