Thousands of wind turbines could be installed in hedgerows on farms land if Proven Energy gets the go ahead for a new plan.
According to the Scottish wind turbine manufacturer installing six of the 14.9 metre tall turbines on the 5,000 farms across the UK, will create less of an eyesore that concentrating standard height turbines on high-density dedicated wind farms. The miniature turbines generate 15kW of energy each, enough to provide electricity for 15 homes. Under this scheme, Proven Energy would pay rent to farmers to use their land, which it would recoup by selling the electricity into the national grid. The company has already installed a number of small turbines across the UK, however this scheme would be the first that involved Proven Energy paying rent and would be on a larger scale than anything they had run previously. Plans have already been discussed with the National Farmers Union and two farmers have already signed up.
The Campaign to Protect Rural England welcomes the scheme providing it does not damage hedgerows.
“We want to plant the turbines like spring onions. They will become an energy crop – literally. People forget that a few hundred years ago in East Anglia, there used to be 10,000 wind mills,” explained chief executive Gordon Proven.
Mini turbines for farms
