United Kingdom: Status, technologies, costs Katerina Syngellakis IT 26 th October 2006
Presentation plan Status of urban wind turbines in the UK Technologies and manufacturers Costs: are they falling? Opportunities and barriers: what does the future hold? A UK perspective
Urban Wind Turbines: UK status report
What? Over 100 urban and semi-urban installations Projects from 0.4 kw to 20 kw Schools and environmental centres dominating Local authorities now getting very involved
Where? Location of small wind turbines Residential 10% Dense inner city 10% Village/Country park 30% Commercial 10% Semi/Suburban 20% Industrial 20%
Who? Owners of small wind turbines Private Industry 11% Other 5% College/Uni 11% School 36% Local Authority 16% Environment centre 21%
Why? Drivers for installations Financial 4% Other 4% Organisations Image 20% Education 46% Environmental 26%
Capacity Factors Histogram of Capacity Factor 2.0 1.5 Frequency 1.0 0.5 0.0 0 4 Min 1.6% Max 13.6% Avg 6.4% 8 12 Capacity Factor 16
Community perceptions 18 16 14 Local Community Perception Towards Wind Turbine Installation After Installation Before Installation Indifferent Frequency 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Negative Positive Very Positive Indifferent Opinion
Ground mounted example Skegness Grammar School
Roof top example Plymouth College of Higher Education Installation of two 6kW turbines August 2005
Domestic example Berwickshire Housing Association 1.5 kw turbine
Small Wind Turbines: UK Manufacturers and technologies
Manufacturers: Status Rapid development over the last 2-32 years Over 10 UK manufacturers Over 15 products already on the market All UK turbines available are Horizontal axis except for one At least 5 prototypes under development, two of these vertical axis
Micros UK Manufacturers Marlec 0.16 to 0.34 kw Samrey 0.24 and 0.6 kw Eclectic Energy 0.4 kw Ampair 0.3 and 0.6 kw Windsave 1kW Swift (Renewable Devices) 1.5 kw Small Iskra 5kW XCO2 6kW Proven 0.6, 2.5, 6, 15 kw Gazelle 20kW
Other manufacturers Non-UK manufacturers with distributors in the UK Sigen Bergey Jacobs 20 kw
Marlec 3 or 6 blades Up to 0.34 kw Variable diameter 15 years
Samrey New product 3 blades 0.24 and 0.6 kw models 1m or 1.8m diameter
Eclectic Energy 5 blades 0.4 kw 1.1 m diameter Lifetime 20 years
Ampair 3 blades 0.3, 0.6 kw Variable diameter 10 years
Windsave 3 blades 1 kw 1.75 m diameter 10 years
Swift 5 blades 1.5 kw 2m diameter 20 years Photo: Berwickshire Housing Association
Iskra 3 blades 5 kw 5.4 m diameter 20 years
XCO2 5 m high x 3.1 m 6 kw 20 years
Proven 3 blades 0.6, 2.5, 6, 15 kw Various diameters 20 25 years
Gazelle 3 blades 20 kw 11 m diameter 20 to 25 years
Any questions?
Costs: are they falling?
Costs of small wind in the UK Average costs = 3750 per kw installed (Clear Skies 2005) 14000 Cost in GBP per kw installed 12000 GBP/kW installed 10000 8000 6000 4000 2000 0 0 5 10 15 20 25 kw
Costs: 20 Urban turbines Average cost = 5470 / kw installed Cost (in GBP) per kilowatt installed /kw 14000 12000 10000 8000 6000 4000 2000 0 0 5 10 15 20 25 kw
30000 25000 20000 15000 10000 5000 0 Cost per technology Cost per kw installed in EURO min EUR max EUR Windsave Swift (now) Proven 2,5 kw (Ground) Proven 2,5 kw (Roof) Iskra 5 kw Proven 6 kw (Ground) Proven 6 kw (Roof) Proven 15 kw Gazelle 20 kw European Windy Cities Meeting, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 26 th & 27 th October 2006 Proven 0,6 kw
Costs sources of information Manufacturers Case studies Installers Generally difficult to get accurate cost data Too few installations!
Project preparation costs In all cases: Structural survey Depending on what is required costs may be incurred for: Design of the system Obtaining Building regulation approval Obtaining Planning permission Vibration / noise / flicker assessments Grant funding applications preparation
Capital costs Equipment Wind turbine, Mast Inverter(s) and control equipment Electrical items Public display board Installation For a roof-mounted turbine - additional costs: Scaffolding Craning (for larger turbines) Roof works
Operation and Maintenance costs Annual maintenance cost for some wind turbines (between 150-500) Replacing parts after 10 years Other costs Project management The cost of doing something that hasn t been done before hard to quantify!
Factors maximising economic benefit Wind speed picking a good site can make a big difference Grants Renewable Electricity Certificates On-site electricity consumption as price for imported electricity always higher than what will be paid for exported
Any questions?
Opportunities and barriers: What does the future hold? A UK perspective
Opportunities Government targets on renewables mean action needs to be taken at local level Microgeneration has a role to play Small wind turbines require less wind and land resources than large turbines, so their installation is feasible in a wider variety of locations
Opportunities Promotion of electricity generation from renewables Demonstration of support to sustainable energy Education and awareness raising For example, educational value could be maximised by placing the turbine near a school, environment centre or on a community landmark building.
Constraints However, small scale wind projects in urban areas do face some constraints: Lower annual mean wind speed Lower electricity production Vibration Flicker Noise Potential difficulties in obtaining planning permission
Wind Energy on Buildings New area for wind energy Issues to consider: Turbulence Wind speeds affected by buildings Vibration Flicker Noise Planning Issues So what are the technologies available?
and energy production Rated wind speed: not the same for all turbines Energy production No independent verification Usually quoted at wind speeds much higher than average urban wind speeds Monitoring programmes needed!
UK Conclusions A growing number of installations Local authorities prepared to carry out pilot projects Strong manufacturing base BUT Need for monitoring of performance Still expensive Planning