For those interested in direct action to increase the amount of renewable power in the UK, there are now a number of micro-wind scheme options available. Small machines (<1.5kW) are available from a number of suppliers at prices ranging from £1500-£6000+ and are suitable for mounting onto a house.

However there must be many people who have space and wind, but won't/can't afford the up-front costs. There now seems to be an alternative financial model, pioneered for small machines by Proven wind turbines. Basically, they enter into a long term lease arrangement (20-30 years) to site the turbine and pay the land owner rental and offer cheaper electricity.

This model has been used for many years by the industrial scale wind farm businesses, but Proven are the first (to my knowledge) to extend this the 0.6-6kW range. As these machines are only 20-30ft tall they should find widespread application without encountering planning difficulties or spoiling landscapes.

Proven call their scheme 'Windcrofting' (see provenenergy.co.uk). I added my name to the waiting list today, but as they're probably inundated with requests, I'm not expecting much to happen soon.

Hope this is of interest to someone.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Paul Hopewell,