Mr. Alan W. WilliamsTo ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is the load factor achieved by the three wind turbines at Carmarthen hay(a) for 1988 and (b) to date during 1989.
§ Mr. Michael SpicerThe vertical axis wind turbine machine had a load factor of 13.3 per cent. for 1988 and 17.3 per cent. for the first quarter of 1989. The machine is being used as a test bed to support the VAWT development programme and, since 1987, has been operating in a different mode from that originally intended. Over this period, it has given satisfactory performance with an availability of 93 per cent.
The Howden HWT300 machine has had a number of teething troubles with its control system, and representative operating data are not yet available; it is hoped that 444W suitable data will be acquired over the next year. The wind energy group MS3 machine is not yet fully commissioned, and load factor data are therefore not yet available.