WORKING AT HEIGHTS - Wind Energy Network

SPONSORS OF DISTRIBUTED WINDDistributed windOur readership may not have heard the expression ‘Distributed wind’. Julian Martin CEO, ICE Renewables (sponsors of thisfeature) explains...“Many of our customers in the agricultural and commercial sectors have high local energydemand whether to operate machinery or refrigeration equipment. Distributed wind energyproduction allows for energy to be produced at the point of consumption and allows theproducer to directly offset local energy requirements and feed the excess produced back intothe network to be consumed locally. This model is more efficient than centralised energyproduction as there is less energy loss across the grid.”One year until digressionhitting the Feed-In Tariff milestones for medium windWith only one year to go untilthe Feed-In Tariff (FIT) forwind is due to reduce, ICERenewables highlights somekey milestones to ensureyour wind projects stays ontrack to beat the 2014 Aprilreduction.Key datesDecember 2013There are two key dates toremember. If by the end ofDecember 2013 you have planningconsent, a valid grid connectionoffer and you have registered yourpre-accreditation for the FIT, youwill then be given a further 12months to get your project installedfrom the date of pre accreditation.Specific detailIdeally a good site will have beenidentified with decent wind speeddata, a wind study and sound financialbacking. To hit the deadline theproject should already be underwayand ideally in planning or about to besubmitted. It can take 6 weeks to getall the technical reports together for aplanning submission, longer if furtherstudies are required.Quality of submissionThe better quality the submission, thebetter chance of understanding theviability of the project early on andavoiding planning delays. This decisioncan be complicated further by a lengthyJudicial Review process if you want toappeal.March 2014If this target can’t be met, thenwind projects will have to becompleted and the turbinecommissioned by the end ofMarch 2014. Time is tight, thedifference in the FIT rate reductioncould be the difference betweena viable and non-viable project,so it is important to understandthe steps that need to be taken tobeat the FIT deadline.94www.windenergynetwork.co.uk