Eco-friendly school left out of pocket after ‘unproven’ wind turbine breaks
This article reveals
An eco friendly school has been left £55,000 out of pocket after its wind turbine broke. The company that installed the turbine has gone bust leaving the school with a pile of scrap. The Gorran School in Cornwall revealed its 15 metre turbine in 2008 which was designed to provide it with free electricity – and sell any surplus power to the National Grid.
The system was seen as a green blueprint for clean, sustainable energy for schools nationwide and received grants from various bodies including the EDF power firm. But soon after being installed the wind turbine became faulty and after a few months seized up – showering the school’s playing field with debris.
Since then the school has been locked in a battle with suppliers Proven Energy which has now gone into administration leaving the school with little hope of any money being returned – and a pile of scrap in their field.”
This salutary tale highlights the risks in the rush to go green – the perils of not thinking through or being advised on technical details of some of the “green” energy options open to us and the fact that the route to renewable energy is not necessarily paved with gold.