THE tail end of ex-hurricane Gonzalo saw UK wind turbines generated more power than the countries nine nuclear power plants.

Wetherby-based Earthmill has 200 turbines on UK farms and said they generated a record level of power - peaking at more than 10.5MW on Tuesday, October 21.

On the same day the entire output from all UK wind turbines also clocked up a new record average of 5.39 GW contributing 16 per cent of the UK’s power, compared to the nuclear plants 13 per cent, and every other type of generation with the exception of gas (25 per cent) and coal fired power stations (34 per cent).

Steve Milner, of Earthmill, said a typical farm scale turbine in a high wind area can deliver up to £10,000 in energy revenues in just a month, and even more during periods of sustained high winds.

“Whilst high winds can make traditional farming more difficult especially in exposed locations, this is exactly the type of weather forecast that our customers can feel good about as it significantly lifts their turbine generation rates and boosts their incomes,” he said.

“There is an army of farmers who have become small, independent power generators and who are now contributing significantly to the total of the UK’s power supply. The subsidies provided under the Government’s Feed in Tariff Scheme are reducing, but the efficiency of the most advanced design of turbines is more than countering these reductions. That means we have crossed the line where wind is an economically viable income stream for farmers in an increasing number of locations."