The UK is blessed with the best wind energy resource in Europe. Yet - despite all the efforts of a number of pioneering individuals and companies our use of this renewable and pure energy source lags far behind other EU countries. John Shore suggests that we give wind power, in all possible locations, a chance to prove itself.
In the past, large windmills (often made mainly of timber) were commonplace and provided an essential local energy source. Later, throughout the UK the familiar wind-pumps provided water supplies and before the widespread introduction of grid electricity, small stand-alone wind turbines were used to provide lighting. Today, although wind technology has made some major advances, we currently only have perhaps a few thousand small turbines (to which this article mainly refers) and most of these are recreational (yachts and caravans) with perhaps a thousand or so domestic-sized machines installed for eco and off-grid houses. The use of medium-sized turbines for horticulture and industry has hardly begun ...
