UK Site First in World to Make Green from Green

Energy from the wind will soon be used to make devices that capture the power of the sun, thanks to plans for a modern windmill at a firm in Wales producing the latest generation of solar cells.

A 120-meter tall windmill from Ecotricity, the world’s first green energy company, will be powering operations at Cardiff-based G24 Innovations by the end of 2010.

G24i is the creator of a cutting-edge range of lightweight and flexible solar cells, which are already being built in to a range of bags and cases to recharge laptops, smartphones and other gadgets whilst on the move.

The single Ecotricity windmill will be within the grounds of the G24i site at the Wentloog Environmental Centre in Cardiff, and will:

• Produce 5.9 million units of electricity each year for approximately 25 years, enough energy for the equivalent use of more than 1,700 homes.

• Save more than 2,500 tons of carbon dioxide going into the atmosphere each year.

Work has already begun on the foundations to prepare the site for the windmill, which will be delivered onto site in October and should be fully operational by November 2010. It is the first time in the world that green energy has been made on-site to produce products that also make renewable energy.

“We’re chuffed to be building this windmill to power G24i, it’s not just a world first, it’s a small glimpse of the future and for me at least a very exciting one – the idea that we can harness renewable energy and use that to make devices that themselves harness more renewable energy. It’s almost perpetual motion,” said Dale Vince, MD and founder of Ecotricity.

“At G24i, our vision is to create a new type of solar technology that works in low light, indoors and where no other solar cell can effectively operate – and to accomplish this with the smallest carbon footprint possible,” noted Robert Hertzberg, a co-founder of G24i and former speaker of the California Legislature. “Installing a wind turbine on our factory site and securing power from renewable wind energy is just another step in our innovative approach in developing a world class ‘green’ technology company.”

The windmill is Ecotricity’s first in Wales and is being installed under its Merchant Wind Power (MWP) scheme, which has already delivered on-site windmills to power household names including Sainsbury’s, B&Q, Ford and Michelin with green energy. Any electricity generated not used by the site can even be put into the grid for other homes and businesses to use.