The chief executive of a Glasgow-based wind turbine maker has called on the Scottish Government to take action to save the farm-scale wind power industry in the UK.
Speaking ahead of today’s renewable-energy jobs crisis meeting between the industry and Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing, Johnnie Andringa, Chief Executive of Gaia Wind said:
“Farm-scale wind, one of the few sectors with a substantial, if shrinking, base of British manufacturers, is becoming a core element of the rural economy:
“Farm-scale turbines are the embodiment of distributed energy (generation mostly for on-site use) and in many cases can be the difference between a rural business being feasible or not.
“If DECC gets the Farm Scale wind part of the upcoming feed-in tariff review right, more than 300,000 UK farms could benefit from energy independence.
“But we need to act now. Already this year we have had to help out non Gaia-Wind turbine owners caught in the backwash of now defunct suppliers leaving owners with no service and maintenance plans.
“If we are to help this vital part of our rural economy thrive, we need a re-instatement of the sub 15kW fit tier and pre-registration of turbines of less than 50kW.
“A farm scale turbine is a world away from the wind farm. Similar in scale to a mature tree, it is a unit of farm machinery, in harmony with its setting and an integral part of the farm business.
“Let DECC know what you think: Let your local MPs, MSPs, and business organisations know what you think and help prevent the Farm Scale wind baby being thrown out with the Big Wind Bathwater.”
See also:
Scottish Energy Minister meets with Scotland’s renewables over looming industry jobs crisis – http://goo.gl/w0b2HH
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