A (shortened) press release from Orkney wind energy company Bryan J Rendall Electrical:

The Eoltec Scirocco, co-developed by Kirkwall company Bryan J Rendall Electrical (BJRE), is the first wind generator of its kind to meet Class 1 standards under the Microgeneration Certification Scheme.  This means it is rated to withstand the extreme wind speeds experienced in exposed areas such as the north and west of Scotland.  The Scirocco is now the only Class 1 turbine eligible for Feed in Tariff (FiTs) payments.

The 6 kilowatt (kW) Scirocco has been certified as generating more than 10 per cent more electricity than its nearest rival.

Mr Rendall said the certification process had been extremely challenging, and at times very frustrating.

“We have achieved a Class 1 rating on what is effectively a shoe string budget,” he said. “Other manufacturers have had multi millions of pounds in financial help and investment to carry out this testing.

“We have done it virtually all in house, with only 14,000 (pounds) of much appreciated funding from Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

The BJRE Eoltec Scirocco 6kW wind turbine has been certified as having a Reference Annual Energy Production  (RAE) of 9881 kWh per annum in a mean annual windspeed of 5 metres/second.  This performance  is over 10% higher than its nearest rival, and over 12.5% higher than the next nearest, according to RAE ratings published on their websites.

(Note from Hugh – the Evance turbine is rated to produce 8780 kWh/year in a 5 m/s average.  The Eoltec Scirocco makes 12.5% higher than this figure.  Eoltec do not reveal what their energy production would be at other mean windspeeds.  The  “nearest rival” is most likely the Proven 11 which does not as yet have MCS certification.

The vertical axis QR5 now also has MCS certification, but the rated output is only around 2000 kWh/year at 5 m/s wind.  This VAWT performs best in decent winds, but I only ever see it sited among buildings and trees where windspeed can’t be more than 3-4m/s annual average.)