Is Wind Turbine Ever cost effective?

[voiceofreason]

Is it ever cost effective for a private business in an area like coventry with an average wind speed of 5.5 m/s to run a wind turbine to replace a part of its mains electricity usage?

If yes what do you suggest and what can I expect to save? Start up cost, maintenance cost, break even point.

Is there a list anywhere breaking down turbine cost, output, anticipated pay back and average electrical  output for any given size of turbine?

This is essential information and unfortunatley when it gets down to the nitty gritty there seem to be no answers!

I know it depends on amount of electricity used etc etc, all good points to avoid the main issue!!!

[martin]

all of those figures are openly available! - the difficult part is getting planning consent!
As far as I'm aware, nobody's "being coy" about it - it's an excellent idea, and should pay back remarkably quickly - once you get into the big turbines, the sums are incredibly attractive! My attitude would be to shove up the largest turbine you're allowed, use what you can yourself, export the rest to the grid, and look forward to a relatively swift payback!
It's another "how long is a piece of string " question - there are SO many variables that it is totally impossible to generalise - you do need some starting point!

[voiceofreason]

Isn't  5.5 m/s too low an average to make any project cost effective? Large commercial turbines and most small turbines ,if data is accurate, would not be cost effective.

I am open to debate on this point but am leaning towards conservation rather than renewable generation.

[Nick_W]

I would like to see these figures.

I am working on the assumption of an average power output of 1kw from the 5kw turbine. This is just guess work.

However, I think its deceptive to take the average wind speed and use that to calculate the average power output. The relationship is not linear. Look at the power curves and check how much power is being generated at 5 m/s then at 10 m/s - it's a lot more than double in most cases. Maybe I'm just being optimistic but I think it will pay back in about 5 years...?