Impacts on small-scale wind power generation

What is the risk?

Using wind power generation effectively is one way to cut carbon emissions and help limit the impact of climate change. Homes and businesses can do this by using small-scale turbines, but to be cost effective and beneficial for the environment they must be in the right place. The Carbon Trust wanted to produce a tool to help people and businesses find out if they are in an appropriate spot for a turbine.

What have we done?

We worked with the Carbon Trust to provide detailed information on wind strength and consistency across the UK. This was then mapped into locations to take account of local geography, the height of turbines, and other issues which may affect wind strength.

What's the conclusion?

The information was turned into a web tool which allows users to put in a few simple details, such as postcode and turbine height, to find out if a turbine is viable for where they live/work. This empowers people to make informed decisions about whether wind power generation is right for them.