An assessment of the potential for business use of wind turbines on farms in Scotland

High wind speeds in farms in Scotland, coupled with on-site demands for electricity, suggest there is potential for installing single wind turbines on these farms to generate electricity. The benefit of avoided costs for on-site supplies will help to lower the effective generating cost of surplus electricity for sale. Using a sensitivity analysis to examine a range of parameter settings for financial costs, wind speeds, and farm grants, it is shown that a turbine can be viable on a farm. The key to viability is to have correct and accurate matching between turbine and farm business, there being a place for both large turbines and small turbines under separate circumstances. There are scenarios where a wind turbine is viable on half the farms in Scotland.