On a good site the financial case for a wind turbine is now so strong that some people are choosing to buy them as part of their pension plans! There are three ways a wind turbine will make you better off.

1. Avoided import = lower electricity bills: When the wind turbine is producing electricity that can be consumed on-site; it does not need to be purchased from the national grid.

2. Income from export: Excess electricity generated by the wind turbine, that is not required on-site is delivered to the grid and can be sold to energy supply companies with a minimum guaranteed tariff of 3p /kWh or can be negotiated higher with your utility supplier.

3. Feed in Tariff: From 1 April 2010 householders and communities who install wind turbines up to 5 megawatts will also be paid for the electricity they generate, even if they use it themselves. The level of payment is linked to inflation. These payments will be in addition to benefiting from reduced bills as they reduce the need to buy electricity. The scheme will also apply to installations commissioned since July 2009 when the policy was announced. Tariff levels have been calculated to offer between 5-8% return on initial investment.

Microgeneration tariffs: Different energy companies run export agreements and ROC contracts in various ways. Download our factsheet for further information on available tariffs and how Capture can help you identify the most cost effective for you.