Some of you may have noticed that there’s a wind turbine spinning behind the coal yard at Urgha again. This week we have installed a new turbine head on the original tower to start generation of our own electricity once again.
Way back in 2010, in the days of Feed-in Tariff, we installed a Westwind turbine to supply the depot and export the excess into the local grid. Since then the installer was bought out and went bust, the manufacturer was sold and went bust, maintenance services dried up and the turbine finally rusted up. In early 2023 we decided to drop the turbine to inspect it and confirm whether it was still safe to run. When it eventually came down in September it was condemned and sent for scrap.
A year on, we have a replacement turbine head running on the same tower and electrical control gear. It was installed on a calm day, which was followed by a surprisingly blustery day – ideal for turbine installation and testing! The original turbine lit the big shed at Urgha Depot. We are now also heating and lighting the shop, the feed store and supplying electricity to the campervans at Urgha Aire.
Hopefully we’ve now got at least 10 years of trouble-free generation, whilst the cost of electricity bought from the grid continues to rise.
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