A new scheme in the UK under which companies are supplied directly with wind energy rather than taking it via the grid was inaugurated with a project in Scotland involving a 600 kW turbine supplying a grocery depot.
The scheme, in East Kilbride, was built by Ecotricity which will own and operate the wind turbine. Energy from the unit is sold to the depot which belongs to Sainsbury’s, the supermarket chain. According to Ecotricity, supplying power directly in this way rather than via the national grid makes the energy cheaper and hence more economical.
The wind turbine, manufactured in Germany by Enercon, provides one third of the energy required by the East Kilbride depot. Ecotricity claims that this Merchant Wind Power scheme means that wind turbines can be installed without government subsidy and supplied without a premium.