Hot on the heels of the government giving the green light to financial incentives for small scale producers of renewable energy, rural specialists George F. White have announced the launch of a new subsidiary company gfw-Wind. This will be one of the very first companies in the UK to give independent advice and guidance as to how land owners and property occupiers can benefit from producing their own energy.

1st February 2010 brought with it the much anticipated confirmation from the Government on Feed in Tariffs (FIT) following public consultation. It gives the go ahead on small scale renewable energy technologies, with the Government providing the mechanism for financial incentives to be paid to producers for every unit of green electricity they generate.

“The clean energy cash back plan, is due to be implemented on 1 April 2010, and for those of you who aren’t familiar with the term FIT – in essence it will provide owners of wind turbines, solar panels, hydro plants, or small scale anaerobic digestion plants, with not only free electricity, but an income for every unit of electricity produced. Surplus electric can then be exported to the grid for which a payment is also made”, says Hugh Fell, Managing Partner of George F. White.

Commenting on their new subsidiary, gfw-Wind, Hugh explains, “We have been assessing the governments proposals for small scale renewable energy production for some time and have realised that there could be a huge potential for land occupiers throughout the North East. The confirmation from the Government on the FIT rates is a fantastic opportunity for land occupiers to take an active role in producing renewable electricity whilst at the same time reducing their electricity bills and getting paid to produce it! FIT’s will really allow all to be involved whilst providing a good investment and reducing costs.”

gfw-Wind will provide a platform for land occupiers to understand more about the renewable wind energy opportunities ranging from small (micro) turbines, to medium and large scale wind turbine projects. “We have an experienced team who understand the benefits and pitfalls (elephant traps) of wind projects and can provide a full range of services, from initial site appraisal through to turbine procurement and successful project delivery,” continues Hugh. “We see this as a must for most land occupiers be they tenants or landowners from the farming sector through to the commercial property occupiers.”

Feed in Tariff’s for small scale production ranging from 1.5 – 15kW will receive a tariff of 26.7p/kW if installed by March 2012. So for example a 6kw/hr rated turbine producing say 7,500 kW hrs per annum (dependant on wind speed) would receive just over £2,000 per annum for 20 years irrespective of whether the electricity is used or sold to the grid.

As this is a new area of business, knowledge and experience of the sector is extremely thin on the ground. Consequently, gfw-Wind will shortly be holding a series of free seminars throughout the North East aimed at local land and property occupiers (tenants and landowners). The seminars are aimed to outline and make potential purchasers aware of the pitfalls and benefits of such technology, the range of wind turbine types and projects available, grant availability, costs and projected income from green energy production. Hugh concludes, “We have a good understanding of what is on the market and will be able to help interested parties through their turbine selection, turbine siting, planning and grant application.”

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