June 2007

Storm Brews over Wind Power

"Wind Power Won't Work", thunders the front page of this week's Berrow's Worcester Journal.

Things must have been very calm here this week for this story to have made the front page.

And calm, indeed, seems to be the problem, for "there is not enough wind in Worcester, and anybody planning to fix a wind turbine to their home could be wasting their money", explains the Journal.

One Michael Coyne, of Northwick, "ordered a turbine in September. But delay in getting planning permission fortunately gave him time to find out that installing it would not reduce his bills."

"'This is a big blow to Worcester', said Mr Coyne, who cancelled his order."

The emphasis there is entirely mine. One would have thought that a big blow is just what he needed.

According to the DTI, the average windspeed here is 4.7 metres per second. The wind turbine company recommended an average wind speed of over 5 metres per second at 10 metres above the ground.

It looks like installing home wind turbines isn't such a breeze after all.