Frequently asked questions

The lifespan of a wind turbine is roughly 20 years. If it’s in an area where there is lower wind speeds, it can be longer, up to 30 years. The lifespan of a solar farm is similar, at 25 to 30 years. This is when the panels start to become less effective and generate less electricity, therefore it may make economic sense to upgrade them at this point. However, solar panels older than this are still in use.

A renewables site can connect as far away as you want from a substation (the grid), but there are cost implications depending on how far away it is.

To work this out we’ve looked at something called a ‘life cycle assessment' which looks at materials extraction and processing, manufacturing, transportation, installation and construction, operation and maintenance and decommissioning for both wind and solar. While figures vary between studies due to the variety of manufacturing techniques, the time taken to ‘earn back’ the carbon emissions from its entire lifecycle by producing clean energy ("payback times") are: for solar, 15 months to 6 years (Kommalapati et al., 2017)(https://www.researchgate.net/publication/314967514_Review_of_the_Life_Cycle_Greenhouse_Gas_Emissions_from_Different_Photovoltaic_and_Concentrating_Solar_Power_Electricity_Generation_Systems) and for wind turbines less than a year (Bonou et al., 2016 (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0306261916309990)and Badea and Vlad, 2025)(https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s42452-025-07052-8).

Solar: solar panels fall under the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) regulatory regime, meaning they are considered electronic waste. This means that producers, importers, and manufacturers of solar panels are responsible for their end-of-life treatment. People can use services provided by Producer Compliance Schemes (e.g. PV Cycle) to arrange recycling at panel 'end of life'. Other companies claim to recover 99% of materials and keep them in the UK. If a person has solar panels that need recycling, contact the installer, ask them about their scheme for taking back end-of-life panels. Under WEEE, they should have a responsibility. Recycling and removal (e.g. roof removal, transport) may incur costs, especially for large systems - this should be considered in end-of-life cost analysis.    Wind:  Most parts of a wind turbine are already recyclable today, but the blades remain the hardest challenge. Blades are usually made from composites (fibreglass + epoxy resin, sometimes carbon fibre). These are lightweight and strong, but tough to separate into raw materials. They don’t melt down like metal or glass. Some UK and European projects are pioneering new recycling methods (e.g. shredding and using as construction filler material).

This project is focussed mainly on wind turbines and small scale solar farms for energy generation. Some community energy battery schemes do exist. Pursuit of a battery scheme in a community project would be dependent on the demand within the community.

The Rated Power website (https://ratedpower.com/glossary/megawatt-and-megawatt-hour/)explains it best. It says: "To help visualize this concept further, imagine your solar energy system as a water pipe. The megawatts are the size or diameter of that pipe, and indicate its capability to deliver water. The MWh are equivalent to the actual volume of water flowing through that pipe over an hour".