Small wind turbine manufacturer launches grants database for farmers

Farmers are entitled to grants ranging from £10,000 to £60,000, or up to 40 per cent of the costs of a wind turbine installation, through the European Union’s €345 million (£300 million) Agricultural Fund for Rural Development. The scheme is administered in the UK via the regional development agencies and Evance says its new database, which it has launched with its main UK distributor Segen, will give farmers local information on the grants they are entitled to.

Loughborough-based Evance, formerly known as Iskra, specialises in small wind turbines for farms, as well as homes and schools.

The UK small wind turbine market is booming at the moment. It is the world's second largest market, with over 10,000 small wind systems deployed since 2005 delivering an installed capacity in excess of 20 megawatts (MW) – 7.24 MW of that delivered in 2008 alone.

Subsidies in the shape of the Ofgem’s Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs) are helping to drive the growth.  Those who install wind turbines, including farmers, are rewarded for the amount of power they generate through ROCs.

A new grid feed-in tariff, to be launched in 2010, is further good news for the sector and those seeking to install small-scale renewables. The feed-in tariff will provide those generating renewable energy a return on any power that they generate and do not use.

Evance and Segen hope to capitilise on the growth in the small wind market, particularly among farmers, with their new database. Segen has installed more than 50 Evance wind turbines across the UK providing power to farm houses and farm buildings. 

Last month, Evance rebranded and launched a new 5kW wind turbine called the Evance Iskra R9000.

As well as the UK, the company is looking to grow its overseas business and says it expects to export 50 per cent of its production over the next 12 months.