Hi Marc, As you know I am also keen on this.. we need feedback from around the village and also someone to establish how viable turbines would be, optimum siting, size etc. 

There is an interesting article in New Scientist about vanadium 'flow' batteries as a way of storing wind power. 

The whole financing and sale of the power needs to be sorted (best to sell direct rather than back to grid)... once you have actually worked out if and where a community might want to put one!  Does any FR resident have any experience in this sort of thing?  It would certainly be great to get a range of views from around the village...

Completely agree with Mike re an alternative energy group - happy to form once May 3rd is over..!  Suspect that it may be other techonologies - more wood chip or farm biomass that might be the most economic. 

Re wind, I have been asking about and have met more positive response locally than I expected (remember I live north of Ashurst Wood and we are quite high and windy up here compared to FR village itself so perhaps why more on my mind...)

It would be good to have more 'solar awarenesss' - my hot water tubes installed by Elemental in the village have been fantastic - especially in this strangely sunny April we are having - conventional hot water heating completely unnecessary  .

PV is great if  you can get someone else to pay for it - so clubbing together and going for a grant sounds like the right approach!