Make going green pay by investing in wind energy

As an MCS accredited installer of a range of renewable energies, including wind, Eco Environments Ltd have a number of projects running in the northwest presently...

‘Wealthy landowners make millions in the wind rush’, screamed the headline in the Sunday Times recently (28th March). The good news is you don’t need to be a millionaire or own a county to benefit financially from an investment in clean, green wind energy. What many people don’t realise is just what a resource we have in this country. The UK has 40% of Europe’s wind, and the Northwest of England and North Wales are particularly blessed.

Between the monolithic wind turbines that cause so much controversy, and the pathetic windmills ill-advised people stick to their homes sits a range of industrial scale turbines capable of generating triple digit returns. How so? Well, on the 1st April this year the government introduced ‘feed in tariffs’ (FIT’s). These subsidise people that generate their own renewable energy at their homes or businesses. For wind turbines up to 15kw in rating you will earn 26.7p per kilowatt hour (kwh) of electricity you generate. What is more this income is index linked, tax free, and guaranteed for 20 years.

So, what does that mean to you as an investor or property/land owner? As an MCS accredited installer of a range of renewable energies, including wind, Eco Environments Ltd have a number of projects running in the northwest presently. “As an example”, says Sales Director David Hunt, “we’re just about to go to planning for a client in North Wales with an excellent site. The client is looking to install a 10kw turbine, an outlay of about £38,000. Their annual payment from the FIT will be £10,510, on top of this they will save £3,779 by using a proportion of what they generate; they will then ‘export’ the remainder to the National Grid. Overall they expect an annual tax free income of £14,526, index linked, for the next 20 years. That’s an overall income of £290,528 from their £38,000 investment, a 761% ROI. That’s a pretty good return!”

By his admission that is a very good site, but further up the coast, just south of Formby he has another client with a small holding. His annual return should be £8,527 per annum, tax free. A return of 448% on his investment over 20 years. Better still, as energy prices rises, and ofgem predict a 20% rise by 2020, the returns improve.

But Feed in tariffs are equally suitable for businesses and commercial sites. Eco Environments is working on a commercial project to install six 15kw turbines for a client in the northwest. “Our customer sees the benefit of generating their own energy on site, and at the same time showing their commitment to ‘doing their bit’ for the environment,” says David Hunt, “but whilst doing so they are likely to see their investment paid back in under five years. From an investment in the region of £300,000 they will see annual tax free incomes of over £71,000. A return of over 422% over the fixed term of the feed in tariff.”

With wind it is all about location, solar PV is a far more flexible option, but in the right place nothing comes close to wind as an option to make going green pay.