Some of our generators

Helen Hollern’s wind turbine began generating electricity for her newly built home in Lincolnshire late in 2008. It is expected to generate over 5000 kW of electricity. Helen’s electricity is fed into the National Grid by us at Green Energy UK, who pay home generators for every unit of electricity they generate. Surprisingly, this means that Green Energy UK even pays Helen for the green electricity she uses in her home, outbuildings and stables. This means anyone generating their own electricity and selling it to Green Energy UK has significantly reduced electricity bills, and is rewarded financially for using the electricity they create.

Helen’s 6kw Proven wind turbine stands an impressive 15 meters high in a field close to her home where her horses graze. It cost £20,212 and £1,500 for its concrete base

With no previous experience of generating her own power, Helen asked her installer about electricity companies who could buy her electricity, and they recommended she try Green Energy UK.

Helen says: “Green Energy UK explained this is how we do it and this is how much we pay. Unlike the others, it was very simple. Sharon, Green Energy UK’s generator specialist, has always been able to answer my questions immediately, even the ridiculous ones, and she has even offered to help complete difficult forms to register for ROCs (Renewable Obligation Certificates) for me.”

Renewable Energy Systems at Beaufort Court. The RES group is one of the world’s leading energy developers, with projects ranging from off shore wind power to sustainable buildings. At the Head Office in Kings Langley they are aiming for a zero emissions building.

Electrical energy is generated by the wind turbine and the photovoltaic modules within the solar array. This electricity can be used either within the buildings or when there is an excess generated sold onto green energy uk. .

Heat energy is generated by solar, biomass and natural gas. The generation of solar heat is dictated by the weather. When solar heat is available and there is demand for heat the energy is used to heat the incoming air directly. In the summer the excess heat is stored in the underground heat store. There is also a biomass boiler which utilises miscanthus grass which is being grown on site. The conventional natural gas boilers are used only when the demand for heat is greater than that which can be met by the solar and biomass sources.

Our first investment project a new generation wind turbine at Merton Abbey Mills began generating in June of 2008. The turbine is being used to supply 100% renewable electricity to the Colour House Theatre making it the world’s first theatre to be powered exclusively by renewable energy.

The aim of the project was to create a landmark piece of modern art with a purpose that benefits the community. The state of the art turbine made by Quiet Revolution is a beautiful looking creation and stands 20 metres high making almost no noise or vibration as it works. The turbine is also being used by the theatre to teach local children about green electricity and the environment.

Dovecote Barns in the Vale of York are luxury eco barns offering 5 star accommodation. These recently converted barns have been furnished to the highest standards but with more than an eye on the environment.

Richard Bramley, the owner of the barns says “The old barns we have converted were in a sorry state and would have fallen down in due course had we not renovated them. As we were setting up a new business the challenge was to do this in as oil-free a way as possible, without compromise on comfort and luxury. All too often 'eco-holidays' are associated with a tent in a muddy field”

All heating water, hot water and laundry is done using a biomass heating plant which can run on grain, willow coppice chips, sawmill waste or pelletized wood, All electricity we need to import is from green energy uk - using only renewable, but we also have a bank of photo voltaic cells which produce 1.4kw peak of electricity. All electric appliances, lighting equipment and pumps are low energy.

“All the staff I have dealt with at green energy uk have been very helpful and pleasant, it does make a change! I found green energy uk through a web search, they stood out once I started to ring around for quotes and to find out a little more about them. What I didn't realise at the time was that some green tariffs are not really green, but use the 10% element that suppliers are supposed to use and assign that to their 'green' users”

The Eco Centre is Groundwork South Tyneside’s headquarters. Groundwork’s mission is to build sustainable communities through joint environmental action. They have installed a new turbine on their roof.

This 'new' turbine was actually previously sited in Cumbria where it was generating power that went into the national grid. The old turbine on Groundwork’s roof has been sold onto South Tyneside Council.

Lionel Hehir from the Eco Centre says

'We are blessed with good wind and a south facing roof. Our existing wind turbine produced enough electricity for our needs at the Eco Centre but we felt that we could have a larger turbine that would produce electricity not just for us but which would produce an excess that we could sell onto green energy uk. That seemed to make good financial sense as well as environmental sense'

Electrician Ian lives in a site of special interest in Cornwall. A passionate supporter of the environment and worried about climate change he was faced with a dilemma when thinking about replacing his oil fired central heating. The tank in the garden was nearing the end of its life and he worried about pollution risks and the cost of replacing the tank or clearing up any oil spills. With no mains gas he decided to look at installing his own wind turbine.

Ian says

"Energy prices have rocketed in recent years and I worry about where our energy will come from. I’m not a supporter of nuclear power as I worry what will happen to the waste. I decided it was time to grasp the nettle and put my money where my mouth was. However, I totally underestimated how difficult it would be to get the turbine exporting to the grid. Electricity generation is a complex business even for an insider like me. The Green Energy UK team did a great job in getting through the utter bureaucracy and I recommend them to anyone thinking about generation at home."

Retired university lecturer Derek Allum believes the solar photovoltaic panels he has bought for his home in Tring, Hertfordshire, will offer greater rewards than the interest paid by the building society. His six solar pv panels generate 1100 units of electricity per year, which Derek sells to us, at Green Energy UK. We feed Derek’s excess electricity into the National Grid. As well as paying Derek for each excess unit of electricity we even pay him for the green electricity he uses in his home, so he saves money he would have spent on electricity, is rewarded for producing renewable electricity and even earns money from the excess.

Derek says: “My money was sitting in the building society doing very little under current interest rates. I am in a stable financial position and decided to put some of my savings to good use. I am interested in all aspects of the environment and see this as a fairly nice, steady investment with a green factor.”

Derek spent £9750 on materials and installation, £2500 of which he was able to recoup via a grant from the government’s Low Carbon Buildings Programme. The installation only took two days.

Derek says: “Friends keep advising me that the credit crunch won’t last for ever and interest rates will go up and my investment will not be so profitable, but I don’t think I can lose. Interest rates will rise again, but so too will the cost of clean energy. My electricity will increase in value also.”

Christine Shine is the proud owner and manager of an Ofgem accredited renewable electricity plant that powers her home and others via electricity company Green Energy UK.

Christine’s renewable electricity plant is a series of 390 photovoltaic panels that covers an area the size of two tennis courts. It sits in the grounds of her home, just 18 metres from the main building, which was built in 1873. Discretely hidden by a raised bank and housed in a purpose-built pit, the photovoltaic panels only need daylight to generate renewable electricity. So even on the shortest, greyest, coldest of days of the year Christine’s panels produce enough clean electricity for her own use and for her to sell to us at Green Energy UK to put into the National Grid for our customers.

Christine’s investment does not stop there. The house has been insulated with locally sourced wool, received a coating of insulating paint, and special transparent blinds have been attached to windows to eliminate draughts and retain heat. Christine has also invested in a geothermal heat pump to keep her swimming pool warm by using the earth’s core heat. The project was completed in October 2009, and Christine estimates her usual £25,000 annual cost to heat and power her home will reduce by 47%.

Christine’s investment in green technology totals £350,000, which she paid for by using some of the equity in her home. She calculates that the project will have paid for itself within 10-12 years, and says: “This has been my home for 21 years and I’m very happy here. To pay £25,000 a year post-tax to keep my house warm and lit I’d have had to be earning £45-48,000 a year. I’m a pensioner, so I decided if I wanted to stay in my home I would have to use the equity and invest in technology that would put me at an advantage. I now don’t have to worry about the electricity bill and even when it is freezing I only need the radiators to be on their lowest setting.”

Renewable Energy Systems at Beaufort Court. The RES group is one of the world’s leading energy developers, with projects ranging from off shore wind power to sustainable buildings. At the Head Office in Kings Langley they are aiming for a zero emissions building.

Electrical energy is generated by the wind turbine and the photovoltaic modules within the solar array. This electricity can be used either within the buildings or when there is an excess generated sold onto green energy uk. .

Heat energy is generated by solar, biomass and natural gas. The generation of solar heat is dictated by the weather. When solar heat is available and there is demand for heat the energy is used to heat the incoming air directly. In the summer the excess heat is stored in the underground heat store. There is also a biomass boiler which utilises miscanthus grass which is being grown on site. The conventional natural gas boilers are used only when the demand for heat is greater than that which can be met by the solar and biomass sources

Caldmore Area Housing Association Limited is a community based Registered Social Landlord, committed to meeting the needs of people in the Walsall area. It has recently been involved with Walsall Housing Group in a project to refurbish 5 blocks of flats in the outskirts of Walsall. As the roof required refurbishment it seemed sensible to look at ways of incorporating renewable technology. Each block of flats has been fitted with photovoltaic panels generating1kW of electricity. The lighting in the communal areas has also been refurbished so that it utilises low energy lights and includes movement sensors to turn off unneeded lights. The electricity generated from the PV panel powers the lighting in the communal areas and the door entry system. When the lights are not on the PV panels generate surplus electricity which is fed into the grid and bought by green energy uk.

Rather than feeling at the mercy of the utility companies Newmore Gardens is an excellent example of working in partnership with their electricity provider to not only pay for their own electricity but to generate cleaner, greener electricity that can be sold to green energy uk and fed to other homes and businesses. The cost was £6,000 per block of flats half of which was funded by the Low Carbon Buildings scheme. Green energy uk would be interested in talking to other Housing Associations with renewable installations that would like to sell their surplus to green energy uk

The Viking Centre, Claxby is a low cost hostel with accommodation for 20 persons set in the Lincolnshire Wolds

They have a solar PV array which supplies hot water and heating and any surplus electricity produced by the unit is sold onto us at green energy uk and fed into the National Grid.

Trevor Lyle from the centre says

I am very impressed by your company- no recorded messages- a pleasure to talk to people who are courteous and know what they are talking about.

Britain’s first zero-carbon house to be created by converting an existing building, is also an Ofgem-accredited mini power station making renewable electricity for Green Energy UK

A two-bed semi in Birmingham, originally built in 1840, has undergone a groundbreaking eco conversion – the first of its kind in Britain – to meet Level 6 (the highest level) of the UK Code for Sustainable Homes. The home at 103 Tindal St is now a four-bedroom dwelling with studio loft, and has also been equipped with photovoltaic panels to generate its electricity, with the surplus bought by Green Energy UK and fed into the National Grid. Making the surplus available to others via Green Energy UK and the National Grid offsets the cost of any imported electricity the residents use.

The unique building is the vision of architect John Christophers of Birmingham-based Associated Architects. John, who will also be living in the home, says: “It’s an eco-house that will produce at least as much energy as it consumes. It’s designed to protect the environment and to show green does not have to be dull. The technical challenges of adapting existing buildings to this standard are formidable; all other Level 6 houses have been new builds. However, it’s more sustainable to re-use rather build new, because considerable energy is used in construction. Standards set for new housing will result in only modest overall CO2 reductions if existing housing is not simultaneously improved.”

Green Energy UK chief executive and founder, Doug Stewart, says: “We are committed to making the greenest electricity commercially available, and being able to supply our customers with the electricity from this pioneering project is extremely satisfying. The building industry has huge potential to help the nation reduce its energy use and CO2 emissions, and John Christophers has demonstrated how.”

Highlands farmer Duncan Grant is taking advantage of a river running through his land by creating electricity from it. He has installed a micro hydro-generator and is selling the electricity to us.

This way of creating business from his land’s natural resources has helped Duncan make Faichemard Farm more financially secure, ensuring that he is able to pass the farm down to his son, who will be the fifth generation of Grants in possession of the land. Creating renewable electricity complements the other steps Duncan has taken to diversify his business, including setting up a campsite and self-catering chalets. People looking for escape and peace and quiet to relax in can find all this in the stunning beauty of Faichemard Farm.

Duncan says: “It has taken a long time to get to this point and has been a struggle, but it has all been worth it. The fact we are doing something that has a positive environmental impact is bonus for me. I have spent all my life here and I love it.”

Western Hydro Ltd operates a 200 kW hydroelectric power station near Helston in Cornwall. Water is abstracted from the river Cober and runs in a mill leat for about 800 metres along the side of the Cober valley. It then enters the buried penstock pipe which takes it to the turbine in the semi-underground powerhouse. The valley has the remains of several mills along it and much of the old leat system is re-used.

The company’s founding principle is to generate green electricity in an ecologically and environmentally sensitive way and to contribute to the fight against global warming. The electricity they generate in an average year saves about 700 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions when compared to a coal-fired power station. They are keen to find further suitable sites to develop in the South-West.

John Collier from Western Hydro says ' We are pleased to be able to sell our electricity to Green Energy UK, a company which has the same guiding principles as ourselves.'

Water power was the main source of energy in the UK until the Industrial revolution. Since then many water mills have fallen into disrepair. At Houghton Mill, a National Trust property, a £1million refurbishment project has been undertaken which included the installation of a turbine alongside the traditional water mill. The excess electricity they generate is sold to us at green energy uk.

UPWEY HYDRO POWER Dorset

Upwey Mill is a small hydro project in Dorset. Owner Richard Willett tells the tale of the project.

It all began with a Christmas present in 1998 - a book on Hydro Electric Power. From then on the project slowly formulated and then became reality over a period of years.

The design had to be worked out and drawn up and pondered over, the type of turbine to use and the costings.

Then there were the permissions, applications to both the Local Council and the Environment Agency which, thankfully, went fairly smoothly.

Work commenced in August 2006 with clearing the site and in September digging for the 4.5 meter (15ft.) deep turbine pit started. Needless to say not everything went according to plan and there were many hold ups along the way.

All this took many months and they were not ready for the large excavator until August 2007. In building the turbine pit which is 15 feet deep - 72 tons of concrete were used - 43 tons of which were delivered as ready mix - and 29 tons were mixed on site and Susan has the muscles to prove it.

Down in the turbine pit the green turbine can be seen, this generates the energy from the water which is delivered by a pipe from the Mill Race at the back of the Mill. Sitting on top of the turbine is the black alternator which generates the electricity.

In the workshop is the control equipment which regulates the water in the turbine and connects the electricity either to Richard and Susan's house or to Green Energy UK customer's via the National Grid. The bulk of the work is done and Upwey Mill is producing electricity feeding approximately 45 MWh per year into the National Grid.

Before we found coal and gas Britain was once reliant on technologies that were totally renewable. Across the UK mills were installed next to running water and the power of running water was used to turn the mills and grind the corn. In areas of the UK that are close to rivers and particularly water falls, small scale hydro is a great use of 'old' fashioned renewable technology that uses the flow of the water to turn the turbines and make electricity. In Cumbria, Church Beck, the river above Coniston has been used as a source of water power for many years; a water intake just upstream of Miners' Bridge was used for hydro-electric installations to provide power for Coniston from 1932 to the mid 1950's, and as early as the1890's a private hydro scheme was in operation.

In 2003 Coniston Hydro Electric Power Co Ltd was formed and the pipeline was eventually built in 2006.

Sue Hext, Director at the company says 'green energy uk was recommended to us by another hydro generators. We are delighted that we are able to harness the power of running water above Coniston and sell it onto green energy uk'

The site sells its electricity to green energy uk and is linked to the National Grid, and provides renewable energy for around 260 – 300 houses.

JC Atkinson based in the North East of England are using a combined heat and power plant to heat their factory.

They manufacture wood coffins and use the waste wood in their combined heat and power plant. Some of the electricity they produce at the same time is used for their machine tools and any surplus is sold onto green energy uk.

JC Atkinson won the award for best green company from the Sunday Times in 2008.

To learn more about how the waste wood is turned into electricity please click here to download PDF.

Waste wood is burnt in a state of the art gasifier to heat water which generates steam to drive the turbines that generate electricity.

Farmer Will Heyes says 'It's an excellent, hassle free way to diversify while contributing to a better environment. I estimate I'll save approximately 750 tonnes of CO2 from going into the atmosphere and what’s more, I shall be seeing a return on my investment within three to five years.'

Given that all waste disposed of in landfill sites generates methane as it breaks down, it makes sense to use the gas for the beneficial purpose of energy generation rather than emitting it to the atmosphere. Burning landfill gas to generate electricity reduces green house gas emissions. Methane, the main component of landfill gas, is a very potent greenhouse gas that is a key contributor to global climate change (over 21 times stronger than CO2).

AD Waste Limited is a small local authority owned Waste Disposal Company looking after the waste recycling centres and landfill sites for Flintshire County Council. One of the landfill sites, Standard Landfill at Buckley is closed and the other, Brookhill Landfill, is currently going through the closure process. The company has gas utilisation plants which generate electricity fuelled by landfill gases extracted from the buried wastes. The power plant at Brookhill was commissioned this year and is expected to last for at least 10 years and possibly longer. The electricity generated at Brookhill is sold to green energy uk and fed into the National Grid.

AD Waste is contributing towards achievement of the national targets for waste recycling levels and the Government’s target of 10% of electricity to be sourced from renewable sources by 2010. AD Waste are delighted to assist in the growing development of the green energy market that is helping to reduce CO2 emissions and their resultant effect on global warming.

Vegetable oil that has been used in catering is a waste product. Longma in Hereford provides a free used collection service for cooking oil to schools, colleges, universities, pubs and restaurants. The used oil is recycled into an environmentally friendly biofuel for generating electricity in their own green electricity generators. Longma generates 100% renewable electricity from this recycled vegetable oil collected from all over the local region. Over the last 4 years, Longma has become the pioneer in power generation from recycled vegetable oil, and has accumulated invaluable knowledge and operational expertise, adding to the company’s advanced technical skills. They are currently seeking investment to expand their distributed renewable heat & power generation business.

Enviropower is the energy generation arm of the Rabbit Group, a leader in waste management. Rabbit Group collects and disposes of construction and demolition waste. After sorting the waste, to take out everything that can be recycled or reused, what is left is used in the Enviropower plant in Lancing. Traditionally this waste would have sat in landfill emitting methane as it gradually broke down. However with the Enviropower plant 48,000 tonnes of this waste will be diverted away from landfill each year.

The greenhouse gas it would have sent into the atmosphere is avoided through a thermal treatment process which produces electricity which is then fed by green energy uk into the National Grid.

The Rabbit Group is the latest in a line of green energy uk generators using waste material to create renewable electricity.

Doug Stewart CEO of green energy uk says ‘we have wind, hydro, solar partners but there is something special about removing waste from landfill and preventing it from harming our atmosphere by creating electricity out of it. To be able to produce renewable electricity with no emissions for up to 10,000 homes is a remarkable achievement. We are extremely proud to be able to make Rabbit Group’s electricity available to homes and businesses. The Rabbit Group has shown tremendous foresight and a project like this helps the Government in its effort to reduce national emissions.’

John Jones,a tomato grower in Hertfordshire, has been supplying green energy uk with electricity since 2001. Initially he was using gas to drive turbines to generate the electricity while powering his heating system. The exhaust gas CO2 is pumped into the greenhouses which enriches the atmosphere promoting better plant growth and bigger tomatoes. He recently has changed the system so that waste vegetable matter is left to rot in underground bunkers and the biogas that is released is burnt to heat water that is circulated around the greenhouses. This makes the process even more green as the vegetable waste is recycled into power that grows even more vegetables.

Electricity from pig waste? Sounds like schoolboy science fiction but it’s true.

Normally the pig manure would be left on the fields to decompose releasing methane as it does so. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas 21 times more potent than Carbon Dioxide and left to rot would enter the atmosphere. In this case the waste is sealed and as the gas is released it is captured and burnt to generate electricity.

We buy electricity from Stockethill Energy Centre in Aberdeenshire, which supplies 270 homes with heat from a combined heat and power unit. Some of the electricity generated on site is used to run heat distribution pumps, but the majority of it is sold to us. Income from electricity is used to subsidise the cost of heat for the residents at Stockethill. THey have seen their heating bills halve since the scheme was introduced. The very small building at the front of the four blocks of flats is where the Combined Heat and Power Plant is stored.

At a housing development in Aberdeenshire a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) unit is supplying heat and hot water to up to 500 flats, to a sports changing facility, and to the Council owned ballroom, leisure centre and ice-rink. The CHP plant is located in a new building which also accommodates the changing facilities for the football pitches. It takes up less space than a 3 bed semi detached house but supplies the heat to all the buildings you can see in the picture around it. Any excess electricity is bought by green energy uk and fed into the National Grid. Aberdeen Heat and Power the operating company have plans to install a second engine which will be twice the size and will be dual fuel like the first plant so that it can eventually use biomass rather than natural gas which makes it totally renewable.

green energy uk provides the new Waitrose shop in Rickmansworth with all its electricity - produced entirely through growing tomatoes.

The electricity is a by-product from tomato farms in Chichester and Stansted - both Waitrose suppliers. Combined Heat and Power units are used on the farms - producing carbon dioxide to feed tomatoes. The units generate heat as a by-product, which is used both to warm the greenhouses and to drive a turbine, creating electricity. The resulting electricity is fully sustainable, and fulfils the Waitrose Rickmansworth shop’s total electricity needs.

Bill Wright, Energy and Environment Manager at Waitrose, says: "Waitrose insists on high environmental standards across its business and all our other branches source their electricity entirely from renewable sources.

“However we feel that so called ‘tomato power’ is an idea worth exploring. In addition to being an environmentally sound option, this surplus energy also helps the farms generate additional income - so everyone benefits.”