Wind experiement was very useful

I am sorry that Barry McLoughlin (letters August 12) didn’t get the full picture from the article in the Courier of August 5. The wind turbine on this house was part of the warwickwindtrials.org.uk project. This was run by local environmental engineering company Encraft, supported by the Pilkington Energy Efficiency Trust and Ampair.

When we erected the turbine on this house, we knew that there was a strong likelihood that it would generate very little. Our purpose was to demonstrate this to the public, who at that time were being encouraged to invest in this technology by unscrupulous manufacturers after a quick buck. Some of the wind turbines investigated produced so little energy that it was costing the householders money to run the inverters. How bad is that?

I am therefore very pleased indeed to have helped to sort this matter out: several wind turbine manufacturers had to cease trading and tidy up their act. Such is the way of the current economic system which encourages anyone to sell anything to anybody, regardless of whether it will do the job or not. It is my sincere hope that the warwickwindtrials.org.uk project has now made most people recognise that, whereas wind is a wonderful resource, you can only harvest it in the right place, and household roofs are not that!

Solar panels are tried and tested technology and will generate a significant amount in daylight hours, and the government Feed in Tariff makes them a very very worthwhile investment. - Janet Alty, Warwick & Leamington Green Party