According to new industry figures, generous subsidies combined with very high prices for electricity and oil have helped onshore wind farms turn high profits, with a single wind turbine capable of generating around £500,000 of profit per year.
Heating Engineers London’s expert plumbers and heating engineers that specialise in renewable technologies have commented that a typical 2 megawatt turbine can generate power worth approximately £200,000 on the wholesale market. In addition to that, the plumbers and heating engineers we surveyed, estimate that the government provides a subsidy of £300,000.
Large wind turbines of that size cost approximately £2m and last around 20 years which should give a steady profit after the payback period of 4-5 years.
According to leading heating and plumbing engineers, the attractive economics have helped launch many new wind farms around the country. However, some heating engineers argue that wind farms are not necessarily provide good value for money or even good weapon against global warming. Experts calculate the consumer cost of avoiding one tonne of CO2 at around £>500, which is not as attractive as a condensing boiler or a combi boiler. High efficiency boilers, according to leading plumbers and heating engineers are an excellent way to reduce carbon emissions of a typical household. A high efficiency condensing boiler can reduce a typical household’s carbon dioxide emission by about 800kg per annum.
The subsidies offered to wind farms are estimated to add around £60 to the consumer bills this year and this figure is estimated to rise further. There are many groups around the country that protest against wind farms based on fears of noise and impact the turbines might have on local landscape and property prices. In Kent, the Kentish Weald Action Group against wind turbines in the rural Kent has logged in many complaints against a 415ft wind turbine planned near the village of Marden and financed by Hg Capital, a City investment firm.
