News & Alerts
News
Proven P35-2 Wind Turbine – MCS Certification
8th February 2012
MCS today received the following notice from TUV NEL:
NEL can today announce that following an extensive investigation of the Proven P35-2 wind turbine shaft failure, undertaken by the Energy Technology Centre, that a way forward has been agreed that allows the MCS Certification suspension to be lifted with effect Tuesday 7 February 2012.
The details of the remedial actions required before P35-2s can be installed / be taken off brake will be available from:
VG Energy
Waterside Farm
Glasgow Road
Galston
KA4 8PB
Telephone: 01563 829990
It is suggested that all owners make direct contact with VG Energy who will advise on the arrangements for these remedial actions.”
Proven P35-2 Small Wind Turbine – Update – 13 January 2012
MCS certification of the Proven Energy P35-2 small wind turbine was suspended on 23 September 2011 following a small number of main shaft failures and the subsequent Administration of the Proven Energy business.
We are pleased to report that a meeting was held at TUV SUD NEL (the accredited MCS Certification Body) with a number of stakeholders on Thursday 12 January 2012.
The primary purpose of the meeting was to address the legacy issues with the P35-2. As a result of the meeting a way forward has been identified and agreement with all relevant parties is expected to be reached in a matter of weeks. Once the agreed solution has been finalised, MCS will instruct the Installation Companies to advise their customers of the remedial work that will be required to restart the turbines.
MCS would advise that owners keep their turbines on brake until further advice is given.
Evoco Energy Update
Update on 9th January 2012
MCS has become aware of a failure with regards to the Evoco Energy 10kW wind turbine. Evoco Energy have issued a press release which is detailed below. MCS is liaising with relevant parties to co-ordinate the response to the situation and further updates will be posted here. Further details may also appear on Evoco Energy’s website www.evocoenergy.co.uk.
If you are a customer who has had one of these wind turbines installed, Evoco Energy issued out a request to apply the brakes to all turbines whilst they implemented measures to address the problem. Although the brake request had been issued, three incidents occurred and modifications are currently being deployed to all turbines to increase the safety margins in the Evoco design.
If you have any questions please see the FAQs below or alternatively speak to your installation company. Installation companies are then in turn advised to contact Evoco Energy or their certification body for further guidance.
FAQs
Q) Will consumers receive compensation if the Evoco turbines are withdrawn from the MCS?
A) Evoco 10kW turbines are currently advised to be put on brake and it is not currently clear whether it will be withdrawn from the MCS scheme but should that be the case, consumers will be given information on the courses of action open to them in seeking redress.
Q) How will the failure of the Evoco turbine affect the wider MCS scheme?
A) The failure of Evoco turbine does not affect the MCS scheme. MCS covers the full range of microgeneration technologies and will continue to provide a certification service for microgeneration technologies and consumers.
Q) Why did MCS certify a small wind turbine which has subsequently failed?
A) The MCS tests and certification of wind turbines are robust and follow international and European standards. Certification cannot guarantee that products will not fail but it does give greater assurance. At this stage it is unclear why the products failed and we therefore await further information about the situation, however, an initial report suggests that the site could have experienced exceptionally high wind speeds in excess of 120mph which significantly exceeds normal wind speeds.
Q) Does this wind turbine failure affect those consumers who have installed the Evoco 10kW turbine and are receiving feed-In Tariffs?
A) Until further investigations are completed into the technical problem facing the Evoco 10kW turbine, it is unclear what the affect will be on Evoco customers currently receiving Feed-In Tariffs. However, as we are advising users of the Evoco turbine to put them on brake, they will be unable to generate electricity which consequently will have an impact on the Feed-In Tariffs as the tariff is based on electrical generation. Evoco has stated that they will pay their customers compensation whilst the turbines are on break.
Q) What should I do if I have purchased an Evoco turbine but not yet had it commissioned?
A) You should contact your MCS certified installation company for further information and not turn it on until the installation company have been informed that it is safe to do so.
Evoco Energy Statement – 7th January 2012
“Evoco Energy, manufacturers of small scale wind turbines, confirm that we have recently experienced a series of turbine faults in a localised area of rural West Yorkshire area during record-breaking high winds. No one was hurt in the incidents, which are being investigated thoroughly. Health and Safety issues are of primary importance to us, and we work to rigorous standards to maintain our excellent record.
Due to the forecasts of exceptionally strong winds, and following a previous recent problem with a rotational bearing, we had asked all of our customers to temporarily apply the brakes to their turbines to prevent serious damage while we implemented measures to address the problem.
Although a brake request had been issued, three incidents occurred during winds of up to 111 miles per hour. In each case, a turbine lost blades, due to the bearing issue for which we had instructed the turbines to be shut down. In each case the blades landed within the curtilage of the turbine owner's property, although it appears that in one case, the hurricane force winds subsequently blew blades onto neighbouring property on the opposite side of a minor rural road.
We are now investigating why some of our customers' turbines were spinning in high winds, despite the brakes being applied.
Evoco turbines have recently weathered 3 lots of hurricane force winds, in which the overwhelming majority our turbines have operated without any problems. Where we have experienced isolated issues, we have dealt with these by increasing the safety margins in our design, and we expect our final modifications, which we have already begun to deploy to all our turbines, to reduce the failure rate to zero. In the meantime, as a responsible operator, we have taken the precaution of keeping our turbine fleet on brake until the modifications are performed. We are compensating our customers for any loss of income.”
The Feed-in Tariffs Review
Update on 30th December 2012.
Please note that MCS does not manage Feed-In-Tariffs.
On 21st December the High Court upheld an appeal over the Government’s proposed reduction in solar Feed-In Tariffs (FITs). The ruling stated that changing the tariff prior to the end of the official consultation period was unlawful. Government has until 4th January to mount an appeal and has indicated its intention to do so.
The ruling means that the pre 12th December FITs cannot be changed until after the full consultation process has been followed (timeframes have not yet been confirmed). This is unless Government wins an appeal.
For further information:
The Feed-in Tariffs scheme is currently under review by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), and a consultation was launched on 31 October by the Department about the tariffs for small-scale solar PV (250 kilowatts or less). Please see DECC’s Review page for more detail on what this may mean for you.
MCS does not manage Feed-in Tariffs, so we have set out below the suggested contact routes should you have further comments:
|
For members of the public unsure about their options following the review |
EST www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/FITS 0800 512 012 |
|
For members of the public wanting to comment on the policy proposals |
DECC www.decc.gov.uk/FITS; This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and 0300 068 5733
|
|
For businesses unsure about their options following the review |
Carbon Trust www.carbontrust.co.uk and 0800 085 2005 |
|
For businesses wanting to comment on the policy proposals |
DECC www.decc.gov.uk/FITS This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and 0300 068 5733 |
|
For members of the public unsure about applying for large-scale (>50 kW) schemes |
Ofgem www.ofgem.gov.uk/fits and Renewable Team 0207 901 7310 |
|
For installers unsure about how changes impact on them |
REAL www.realassurance.org.uk 0207 981 0850 |
|
For installers with questions about the MCS database |
MCS www.microgenerationcertification.org 0207 090 1082 |
|
For companies from technologies other than PV with policy queries |
DECC www.decc.gov.uk/FITS This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and 0300 068 5733 |