Wind farms could provide windfall for local communities | Environment. Communities with windfarms in their area could get money off their electricity bills or grants for facilities such as playgrounds, the government has suggested. The Department of Energy and Climate Change has launched a consultation into how communities could benefit from having windfarms sited near them, for example by receiving discounts on bills or investment in local infrastructure. It will also look at how local businesses could become involved in the supply chain and how developers can best consult local people. The energy secretary, Edward Davey, said that too often host communities had seen the "windfarm but not the windfall" and he wanted to ensure people benefited from them.
Currently the industry pays to host communities a minimum of £1,000 per megawatt of generating capacity of turbines installed, but in some cases companies provide larger benefits packages. "We know that two thirds of people support the growth of onshore wind. Agder Energi - English. Agder Energi is Norway’s fourth-largest energy supplier measured by hydroelectric power generation. Skjerka power station. Agder Energi’s vision is to be one of the leading companies in the Norwegian renewable energy sector. The Group’s activities comprise the generation, distribution and sale of energy, as well as providing energyrelated services.
Each year, the Group’s 47 wholly-owned and part-owned power stations produce around 7.8 TWh of renewable energy. The Group also has significant ownership interests in the wind industry, through the companies Statkraft Agder Energi Vind, Dalane Vind and Bjerkreim Vind. These companies are planning to build wind farms in various locations in Norway. Agder Energi Varme operates district heating plants in places such as Kristiansand, Arendal and Grimstad. Agder Energi Nett owns and operates the transmission and distribution networks in Vest-Agder and Aust-Agder, which comprise 19 600 km of power lines. I've Got the Power. Think wind power and you probably imagine multimegawatt-scale wind farms featuring gigantic turbines producing power for a few thousand homes. But a handful of companies in the United States would prefer to have each home powered by its own wind turbine. For years, residential wind power has been a niche business, mainly because the turbines designed for this market cost more than many consumers were willing to spend and the units were not efficient enough to match the cost of power from the grid.
But now, one company has managed to break the cost barrier with an affordable turbine that matches the efficiency of commercial wind farm turbines and produces power at grid prices. In August, Southwest Wind Power, a start-up located in Flagstaff, Ariz., began selling a 1.8-kilowatt residential wind turbine dubbed SkyStream 3.7 [see photo, ”In My Backyard”]. The tiny power plant sells for US $5100; total cost including installation runs between $8500 and $11 000. Fertilizer from Wind. Wind and Water Power Program: Wind Powering America.
Community Wind Across America | Windustry. Www.windpoweringamerica.gov/pdfs/2010_annual_wind_market_report.pdf. Energy - China beats the US in wind energy.