Medium wind projects are still profitable despite recent cuts to the Feed-in Tariff support mechanism, according to turbine manufacturer Norvento.
A study by Norvento forecasts power prices to rise 40% by 2025, while the total cost of on-site distributed wind energy production will fall by between 20 and 40% in the same period.
The Spanish manufacturer said this will give those who can maximise their on-site consumption of energy an opportunity to significantly reduce their long-term energy costs and hedge against rising electricity prices.
“In the mature, low-to-zero subsidy market, we’re likely to see a fundamental shift in the way medium wind projects are deployed by both landowners and commercial users,” said Norvento UK director Ivo Arnus.
“In practice, that may mean an end to the days of profiting from high levels of government subsidy, and the subsequent introduction of a more measured, long-term pattern of medium wind development, where turbines are used to counteract the effects of increasing electricity prices,” he added.
The findings came after a further FiT degression this week that has seen the tariff for turbines of 15kW-100kW fall to 8.54p/kWh.
Norvento’s 100kW nED100 turbine has been specifically designed with the UK market in mind, the company said.
Image: nED100 wind turbine (Norvento)
