Small Scale Renewables: Are They Worth It?



Anyone for Hydroelectric power?


Climate change is everywhere you go. Government initiatives and independant reports all point to one solution: going Green. But how do you go Green? Is it worth it?

Large scale renewable energy production is probably the easiest way for the consumer to go Green, just switch provider. But for businesses, is small scale renewable energy production worth it's outlay?

Is it worth it?

This has been a contentious issue for quite some time. My suspicion is that a propaganda war between those in favour and those who arent has jaded the public view somewhat. For example, the view that wind turbines generate less than they cost to put them up in the first place is quite frankly, baloney.

If there was never a return on wind turbines, the government wouldn't have invested so heavily in offshore wind farms. There's also a brilliant example of a privately owned wind farm in Kent. A neigbourhood managed to achieve backing from a major bank to fund the construction of their very own wind farm. The bank would not have invested had there been no return. These villagers now recieve money from the grid for the electricity they put into it. Their meters go backwards.

There are all sorts of other examples of where people are harnessing renewable energy on a smaller scale. Whether it's PV solar panels or wind turbines, right the way through to composting (which isn't technically renewable), people are doing it.

For any business it will be dependant on the situation so it's worth seeing what resources are available to you locally. Doing the maths is easy, so why not give it a try?

If local energy is hard to come by, you should be focusing heavily on efficiency. Payback on more efficient machinery is generally very short and will mean that renewables may just become an option as your consumption reduces.