Wind without subsidy

[Digester Man]

Can it be done? Either by going second hand or else going up in size for economies of scale? Main cost is going to be grid connection, we have 3 phase already but haven’t done an appraisal yet on what the line could carry. Just wondering are there any turbines out there capable of returning a profit without FiT/ROC payments

 

[f0ster]

the grid connection is not always required. you can connect up to 16A per phase without any need for a grid connection, such as the gaia, they are 11kw and are just under the radar for a grid connection. you can install larger as long as the inverter is locked to 16A max output. even if you do apply for a grid connection it might not cost anything, it depends on your location and what the lines can take in their present state. in Scotland the dno used to charge £600 for a grid connection plus any line mods if required but I am told that is done away with now, you only pay for line upgrades so as to give you your connection. in England they do not usually charge the connection fee but we have had a few applications where they insist on adjusting the local transformer settings at a cost of about £1100

 

[it's not over]

Can it be done? Either by going second hand or else going up in size for economies of scale? Main cost is going to be grid connection, we have 3 phase already but haven’t done an appraisal yet on what the line could carry. Just wondering are there any turbines out there capable of returning a profit without FiT/ROC payments

In a word no,one big breakdown and its over

 

[How much]

Not on selling the energy i don't think the power companies are giving fair rates for the energy produced by any renewables at the moment I think the reasoning is they assume selling the power is icing on the cake and the FIT is where the money is .
If you used all you produced that would make a big difference and tip the scales in your favour but in essence running cost are way to high in terms of service cost , insurance not available at reasonable cost or worthless in the event of claim any way .
Reliability , high construction cost even for used items against low return would be final nail in the coffin in my opinion at least

 

[Exfarmer]

The energy price is controlled by an auction.
the price varies very much during the day and for peak periods. If you can guarantee power prioduction during these peaks then you will get a lot better price.
most renewable power is viewed as being similar to the energy supplied by the large background generators such as coal and nuclear, although of course this should really have preference over renewables Which are obviously unreliable and may be producing at times of the day the power is not wanted. This is especially true of PV.
gas and battery supplied power is obviously far superior

 

[renewablejohn]

The energy price is controlled by an auction.
the price varies very much during the day and for peak periods. If you can guarantee power prioduction during these peaks then you will get a lot better price.
most renewable power is viewed as being similar to the energy supplied by the large background generators such as coal and nuclear, although of course this should really have preference over renewables Which are obviously unreliable and may be producing at times of the day the power is not wanted. This is especially true of PV.
gas and battery supplied power is obviously far superior

This is the important point you need power at peak periods to get a reasonable price. The hydro boys do this if they have dam facilities but there is no reason why you cannot do the same with wind as the technology has been around for a while now.