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Evance passes 1K milestone
EvanceWind Turbines has installed its 1,000th small wind
turbine at a house and caravan park in Derbyshire.
Anthony Barratt has erected one of the company’s R9000
turbines to provide green power for his home in Tansley near
Matlock and for five hook-ups in the adjoining caravan park.
The turbine is expected to generate 13,000kWh
annually, meeting 80% of Mr Barratt’s energy requirements
(10,000kWh for his home and a further 6,000kWh for the
caravan park).
Leicestershire-based EvanceWind Turbines, the leading UK
manufacturer of small wind turbines, enjoyed a record year in
2011, increasing sales by 200% and expanding its workforce
by 25%.
It claims that the installed base of Evance small wind
turbines in the UK, Europe and North America collectively
generates around 11,000MWh of electricity annually
(assuming an average wind speed of 5.5m/s), saving more than
4,700 tonnes of CO
2
emissions (based on DEFRA’s figure of a
CO
2
emissions reduction of 0.43kg per kWh).
www.evancewind.com
Energy register
Following the Carbon Trust’s announcement that it is to close
its register of energy consultants, the Energy Institute (EI) and
the Energy Services and Technology Association (ESTA) have
joined forces to create a directory of accredited professionals.
The move gives businesses the assurance that they are
getting high-quality, reliable advice on saving energy and
cutting bills.
Sarah Beacock FEI, International and Professional Affairs
Director at the Energy Institute, said: “The EI is the accrediting
body for the energy industry and the consultants on this
register will have been carefully assessed before their
membership is confirmed. All of them are highly qualified,
usually to Chartered status or equivalent. They have the
extensive training, knowledge and in-depth experience to
provide expert guidance to any organisation.”
www.energyinst.org/rpec
The opportunity to generate
renewable energy remains an
attractive proposition for small and
medium-sized businesses despite
recent reductions in feed-in tariffs,
according to business-to-business
energy supplier Opus Energy.
Its survey of 500 SMEs in November
revealed growing interest in renewable
energy generation with one third (32%)
planning to install solar panels, wind
turbines or anaerobic digestion and
38% expecting to be generating their
own renewable energy within five years.
Four out of 10 (42%) respondents
said they would switch to generating
some or all of their own power from
renewables if it could be proven they
would make money out of it; and
59% said they would be interested
in generating their own power if the
Government provided subsidies.
Louise Boland, Director of Risk
Management at Opus Energy, said that
cuts in feed-in tariffs (FIT) introduced
since the survey was carried out have
had an effect, but that not all areas
were affected equally.
“Since the changes to the FIT tariff
we’ve seen a drop off in the number of
applications from customers with solar
PV. The pipeline for wind still seems
strong,” she said.
As an example of how small
businesses can exploit the opportunities
presented by renewables, Opus Energy
cites the case of Lincolnshire farmer
Craig Birch. A 55KW wind turbine
installed at his 600-acre farm in
Sproxton, Leicestershire generates
enough power for half the village and
brings in £40,000-£50,000 in additional
income.
www.opusrenewables.com
Wind power still exciting SMEs
Toshiba shines a light on energy savings
Family-run furniture store Stokers Fine
Furnishing is looking forward to a 75%
reduction in its annual energy bill after
replacing the halogen bulbs used in its
stores with Toshiba LED lighting.
Stokers’ LED pilot scheme achieved
savings of more than £1,000 a month in
its Southport store alone.When extended
across all 11 stores, LED lighting is
expected to produce annual savings of
£132,000.
Following the success of the pilot,
Power Solutions is replacing more than
10,000 100 watt halogen lamps with
dimmable, 19.7 watt Toshiba PAR38 LED
lamps that use 75% less energy and
last 20 times longer. They also generate
70% less UV light, greatly reducing the
amount of heat emitted, which will allow
Stokers to turn off its air conditioning for
eight months of the year instead of the
usual four.
Jonathan Stoker, joint managing
director of Stokers Fine Furnishing, said:
“The pilot scheme instantly reduced
our carbon footprint, will pay for itself
within nine-and-a-half months and has
dramatically cut the cost of our energy
bills without compromising on the quality
of light throughout the store.”
Edward Lees, Product Manager,
Toshiba Lighting Systems UK, said: “With
traditional lighting accounting for around
20% of a retailer’s electricity costs, LEDs
offer a rapid return on investment and
long term cost savings, from both a
maintenance and energy consumption
point of view.”