There are man places on this planet where even if you had all the wealth in the world, you could not buy an iota of energy since the conditions are so inhospitable. There are places and times when the sun never comes out, the cables never reach and you are left with no option on way to produce power. This is exactly where wind energy comes in very handy. It is not easy to carry your solar panels or light up remote villages with conventional current. People in such places have now officially been asked to look towards ‘Micro Turbines’ to power their places.
Small wind turbines in many rural settings are officially a good way of generating electricity, says a new report. The study by the Carbon Trust and the Met Office suggests turbines typically generate four times as much electricity in rural settings as they do in urban ones. Small wind turbines mounted on rooftops and in gardens could provide up to 0.4 per cent of all the UK’s electricity needs, the report notes. It also adds that in a scenario with a large turbine install costing £10,000; you could make your cash back in 13 years.
City-dwellers though, should think twice before sticking a wind turbine on our roof. The study says many roof-mounted urban turbines may actually generate more carbon through their manufacturer than carbon avoided through their use. In other words, they could harm the planet more than help it. That really is something to think about before lauding the next roof-mounted wind turbine buildings blindly!
Via: smartplanet
