There is a secret international race going on; it rivals the space race in the 1960s and the outcome is just as relevant to human development, only very few people know about it. And while solar power steals a lot of the spotlight, it’s small wind power that has the UK and the US in a spin. Many would expect the US, with all its financial backing and high profile green advocates (Al Gore), to have a large lead on the renewable energy market. But the UK is hot on its heels and, with a little more investment and development, could very well overtake the US as the world leader in small wind power technology by 2020.
In fact, no one is more willing to admit the UK’s potential in the wind power market than the US. In May of this year the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) released a report that highlighted the increased demand for small wind technology globally. Ron Stimmel, author of the study, said that one of the reasons behind the US’s continued success in small wind power generation is government enacted financial incentives for small wind turbine consumers. “The UK currently exports more small wind systems than any other country in the world and has a great potential domestic market … With the right policies, the UK market could see similar growth,” says Stimmel.
Government incentives are precisely what the Carbon Trust recommended in their recent report that looked at different forms of renewable energy (including offshore wind power) from a profitability, jobs creation and carbon reduction point of view. The proposed incentives include subsidies and tax breaks for manufacturers to promote development and country-wide adoption of renewable energy technology.
Unfortunately, a few years back the wind power industry in the UK was plagued by unscrupulous turbine and generator manufacturers whose promises exceeded their ability to meet them. There was a backlash as customers complained about the inefficiency of wind power systems in general. To address this kind of problem and regulate the manufacture and sale of small wind power systems, the British Wind Energy Association (BWEA) introduced performance and safety standards to which all small wind turbines must comply. To meet standards small wind turbines are subject to stringent performance tests in a variety of simulated wind situations.
The BWEA believes that the new performance standards, in combination with incentives and programmes to increase the environmental importance of renewable energy solutions, could lead to massive growth in the UK small wind power market and leap frog it ahead of the US in terms of global market leadership. In addition to an increase in the export of small wind power systems over the course of 2009, the UK expects to meet 45% of the global demand for wind powered electricity by 2020 and that industry-related jobs will increase from 1,880 to 5,800 during the same period.
With the enactment of commercial EPCs and renewed focus on alternative sources of energy such as small wind power, the UK looks set to lead the world into a greener, more environmentally aware future.
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