Partnership Launches ‘Most Favourable Wind Terms’ to Landowners

A developer has teamed up with energy firm Xzeres Wind Europe (UK) to provide turbines to farmers, crofters and landowners at no cost, with free electricity and a share of revenue income.

Under the scheme clients capable of hosting one or two 10kW turbines will have them provided free of charge with planning and connection costs also met by Xzeres and Dumfriesshire-based PassiM Developments Ltd.

They will have all of their electricity needs met free-of-charge for the 20-year duration of the contract along with an annual ground rent of up to £1000. Maintenance and decommissioning costs at the end of the contract will also be met by the companies.

Both firms will derive revenue from selling excess electricity to the National Grid and from the Government’s Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) for renewable energy providers.

Robert Schiller, managing director of PassiM, said he believed the scheme would provide access to wind energy for farmers and estate owners as well as rural and urban communities on the most favourable terms available anywhere in the current market.

He aims to have completed deals with around 100 landowners across the UK by the end of the year.

“At the moment, the best landowners and communities can hope for is to be offered reduced price electricity or a share of the income from a turbine or turbines. We are offering both.

“Under the business model agreed with Xzeres, clients will have no financial or investment obligations. All they need to do is to provide the land upon which the turbine will be situated.”

Schiller added: “No-one has done this before in this market, as far as we are aware, and we are confident it will prove popular. Each turbine costs £60,000 and planning and connection costs are a further £5000 so it’s a significant investment on our part.”

The amount of FiT offered to generators of renewable energy varies depending on the size and date of the installation and the date of installation. Under the current agreement those with a generating capacity of 4-10kW are guaranteed a return of 13.5p for every KW of energy produced.

During 2013 there has been a large drop off in the number of wind installations, possibly due to the uncertainty in the market during the early part of the year. It is hoped that the industry will bounce back from this due to the stable FiT during the latter part of the year.