Inefficient turbines (Vic Thomas)

It seems that there is a bit of power selling off C&F wind turbines going on in Orkney just now so perhaps it’s time for a word of caution to potential and prospective customers of this make of machine here in Shetland.

There are only two C&F machines in Shetland as far as I can ascertain and while one turns reasonably well in moderate winds it turns off when the Proven or Evance machines continue generating in higher winds common here in Shetland. The second machine, despite a replacement turbine head and blade assembly recently, is still after almost a year non-functional and if I was the owner I would be demanding my money back.

As a turbine owner and contact for the Shetland Renewable Energy User Group, I take a very keen interest in wind turbines and as far as Shetland is concerned the C&F machines are presently unsuitable for our conditions and the response time to faults and problems from either the company or accredited installer is diabolically poor, with weeks and even months passing with faults unresolved.

I was also informed earlier this year by colleagues in Orkney that there was some mis-selling regarding C&F machines, with potential and deposit paying customers not being advised of the HMRC implications if you sold over a certain amount of electricity back to the grid.

While I cannot say how C&F machines are faring in Orkney I doubt if any more will be sold in Shetland until the performance of the two here improve. But if you are thinking of investing in one of these machines, do your homework and do not hand over any money until you are sure the machine will do what is on the can, and more importantly, some written guarantee about the speedy response to warranty and performance issues.

Vic Thomas
Shetland Renewable Energy User Group
Clousta.