Renew On Line (UK) 53

Extracts from NATTA's journal
Renew, issue 153 Jan-Feb2005

4. Micro power shows off

The Sustainable Energy Expo 2004 trade exhibition last Oct. at Olympia was a little bit thin on the ground, but otherwise much as in previous years- with a good range of mostly UK companies showing their wares. It was dominated by PV solar and a sprinkling of heat pumps, but not much this time on wave and tidal. But this year saw the arrival of micro-CHP and micro wind. 

Micro CHP was represented by Powergens gas-fired Whispergen domestic unit using Stirling engine technology (see Renew 146). Now on sale to the general public, with total installation costs put at £3000, it delivers up to 8kW of heat plus 2 kW of electricity, which Powergen say they will take back- presumably via some sort of net metering arrangement. British Gas have a rival system on offer, and the market looks like becoming quite lively.  Also on show was the ‘Wind Save’ domestic three bladed micro wind turbine- which can generate 700 watts from rooftop locations (see Renew 149). It costs £995+VAT- a lot cheaper, £/kW, than PV! Ampairs six-bladed 300w micro wind unit was also on show. So, with several other micro wind devices around, including the1.5kW Swift (now backed by Scottish and Southern Electricity and going on sale for around £1,500), and various long established Marlec/Rutland and Proven designs, consumers have a range to choose from- and (see report below) there is something of a boom.  But  Windsave and Ampair apart, there was not much wind power on show at the Expo- although Community Windpower Ltd, offered to help to those wanting to explore local ownership options

(01928734544 / info@communitywindpower.co.uk )  Also see Groups.

One of the local wind pioneers, the Bro Ddyfi Community wind turbine project near CAT in Wales, was given a UK Eurosolar Award at a session run by Energy 21 during the Sustainable Energy Expo.  Full details of the other Awards in Renew 153.

·        At the other end of the spectrum, the Expo was also backed up by a series of conference sessions, at one of which Sir Bernard Ingham addressed the theme “Nuclear Power- the only clean, reliable and sustainable Power”.

Micro-wind boom

Windsave is only the most recent micro wind turbine to come on the market. Proven Energy, the family-owned business in Stewarton, Ayrshire, has been producing mini and micro wind devices for many years.  It said recently that it had installed around 200 small-scale wind turbines across Scotland and had experienced 100% growth in the past two years. Renewable Devices, established two years ago to make green energy products more accessible, has also sold hundreds of its turbines and orders are in the thousands. Its Swift micro wind turbine has been backed by Scottish and Southern Electricity, which has taken a 20% stake. However, the Proven and Renewable Devices told the Scottish Herald (Nov.1st) that government guidance for council planning departments and electricity distributors was virtually non-existent, and it was hard for individuals to get through the maze of the planning application process- which is designed for large wind farms. Proven Energy said that about 25% of customers wanting a turbine on their property had suffered rejected applications.  But green power retail company Good Energy, has recently set up a scheme to pay individual households for renewable energy they produce. Juliet Davenport, Good Energy chief executive, explained: “We take on the form filling for them, and we are trying to push the distributors to allow them to use much smaller meters”.

Green Lights

The Trafalgar Square Christmas tree lights this year  were powered by a hydrogen fuel cell, installed by Aberdeen company siGEN, and  sponsored by BOC and Johnson Matthey, both members of the London Hydrogen Partnership. The Mayor of London is working with the London Hydrogen Partnership to demonstrate the viability of hydrogen and fuel cells in the capital.

www.sigen.co.uk  www.sigenshop.co.uk   www.lhp.org.uk