A Windmill in Your Backyard: Facts and Hints

You do not have to be an eco-freak to have already thought about living a greener lifestyle. There are many solutions and suggestions that can help you decrease your carbon footprint.

Maybe you already use rechargeable batteries or even bike to work! However, according to recent studies, there is a large and entirely different green trend emerging. In fact, the UK is among the European leaders in terms of green energy production, with particular attention on wind energy.

Let’s start with some data

The UK is quickly switching to green energy, with wind power being the most popular green alternative. In 2013, UK mills produced almost 30,000 GWh of wind energy (compared to almost 4,000 GWh in 2006), which corresponds to more than 15% of the national energy demand.

What is happening in Europe?

• The entire production of wind energy is 12 times greater than during 2000;
• The number of offshore installations is increasing, even if they are just a small percentage of the whole installation system (25% in 2015 versus <0.5% in 2001);
• Germans are by far the leaders in both new installations as well as for the annual amount of GWh produced.

If you do not like numbers…

Good news from Maf Smith, RenewableUK’s Deputy Chief Executive:

“We’ve reached a historic point where wind energy is outperforming coal. April was the first month in the UK’s history in which wind provided more of our power than coal.

The Government has said that in future our electricity needs to come from nuclear, gas and renewables and the fact that the wind has now leapfrogged coal shows that we are delivering on this ambition.”

Interesting Scottish fact

What is the region with the highest production of wind energy? Scotland! Alone, it produces 13,786 MW of wind energy from 5,390 turbines (the UK has a total of 6,800 turbines) and has other 741 projects under construction.

The Scots realized that in addition to having the most suitable climate for this type of renewable energy, windmills are among the best energy alternatives because they have zero impacts on the environment.

In fact, a government survey in 2013 shows that Scotland is more likely and willing to increase the number of wind farms (82%) compared to coal, with only 9% of the population supporting coal-fired plants.

To mill or not to mill

After all these numbers, did you realize that the UK has a backyard big enough and windy enough to house these great structures? You don’t need to spend anymore time visiting the Dutch windmills!

Here’s how you can convince your family and neighbours that having a mill in their yard is a great idea:

• It is green
• It is supported by several incentives
• It is a solution that many individuals and SMEs have already chosen
• If the facility is large enough, you can sell the energy and make extra money (and buy that TV you’ve wanted for a long time!)

Still not convinced? Then take a trip driving around the UK and visit the many windmill sights to learn and see more!

V.V.