Domestic Power Generation Using Wind Turbines in Homes - Research Paper Example

Introduction: The demand for sources of energy is growing throughout the developed and developing world. Dependence on traditional sources of supply which includes oil and coal is still very high. The problem here is that both these sources are non-renewable and any practical mind can predict that if the world uses these resources at the current rates of consumption, the supply will run out some day in the future. This awareness has resulted in the form of other sources of energy with focus on renewable or non-depleting sources like wind, water, and solar power. Water as an energy source is quite popular, but needs reservoirs which take up large areas of possible arable land. Alternatively a country should be blessed with natural environments like waterfalls. Solar power is an area which practically every region in the world is blessed with in abundance. Attempts at harnessing this source have been successful to a large extent with building, automobiles, and other areas being powered by this source. The third alternative namely wind is also an area that can be harnessed to a large extent if an area is blessed with adequate wind strength to power generators. This is also one of the cleanest sources of energy with no or negligible emissions. Like solar power, this form of energy can power large areas by using a large array of turbines. It can also be used to power individual homes by using one or possibly a couple of turbines. There are advantages that accrue to homes when they use this method to power their homes. One is that they will have uninterrupted power supply and will not be subject to any general power outages in the area. Another is that they can sell any surplus power to outsiders. The third is that they can generate power practically for free and does not have to pay their monthly power bills to the supplier. This paper is an attempt to study the possibilities of marketing the power of using wind as a source of energy for domestic use through a new and improved turbine. This analysis will study the market potential using the PESTEL or PESTLE analysis which is a commonly used method to study the market. This paper is a report presented to the University for the benefit of the two research groups that are planning to start two new companies which will produce micro wing generators for domestic consumption. PEST Analysis: Before starting the marketing process, an organization needs to analyze the internal, micro and macro environments of its business. The macro environment consists of four main factors, namely, Political, Economical, Social and Technological. PEST stands for these. It is sometimes referred as STEP analysis also. Business leaders use PEST Analysis for decision making and to assess marketing and business development. (Pest Analysis: What is Pest Analysis. 2009). The concept of PEST has now been extended to PESTEL or PESTLE analysis by adding two more parameters namely the legal and environmental factors. “The PESTLE analysis is a more in-depth analysis of your company than the standard PEST analysis. PESTLE not only evaluates the Political, Economic, Social, and Technological factors affecting the success of your business, but also the Legal and Environmental factors. It is a crucial test to understanding the environment surrounding your business and managing it to your advantage.” (Pestle Analysis). 1. Political: Political factors are mostly government policies and other legal issues such as tax policy, employment regulations, environmental laws, trade restrictions, tariffs, political permanence of various governments of the country etc. (Strategic Management: Pest Analysis. 2007). 2. Economical: These are often closely related to political factors. Main factors in this category are the economic system of the country, involvement of government in the free market, foreign exchange rates, skill level of the workforce, unemployment rate, quality of infrastructure, economic growth rate of the country, inflation and interest rate etc. (Strategy: Pest Analysis. 2007). 3. Social: Aspects in this category are chiefly religious factors, ethical issues, demographics, education, occupation, lifestyle, fashion trends and role models, leisure activities, branding, advertising and publicity, media views etc. (Morrison 2009). 4. Technological This is by far the most important factor among the four. It includes intellectual property issues, competing technology development, maturity of technology, consumer buying mechanisms, patents and licensing, replacement technology, information and communication etc. Research funding also falls into this. (Chapman 2008). Though PEST factors play a major role in the assessment of value creation opportunities of a particular strategy, the companies usually don’t have much control over these factors. Since macro environmental factors may change from region to region, PEST analysis has to be performed per country. Application of the analysis may also vary from business planning, marketing planning and product development to research reports. (Pest Analysis: Political, Economical, Social, Technological Factors. 2008). As mentioned earlier, changes in the economic scenario of the world has resulted in the need for a broader study of the market. Globalization and free trade has resulted in companies expanding worldwide. These expansion plans have to take into consideration the laws and statures of each market to which a company plans to enter. Hence the legal environment of the particular market too has to be studied. Rising levels of environmental pollution and degradation is also a major concern today. Hence many countries are introducing laws which intended to prevent or reduce damage to the environment. There is also the moral and social responsibility for organizations to minimize the risk they can cause ti the environment. Hence the environment too has to be taken into consideration. Legal environment: Rising levels of government intervention in certain areas (for example employee and environmental protection) and entry into new markets has resulted in the need to underhand the legal environment of the region in a better way. The areas in which this environment be studied include the statutes in employment law, corporate laws, and consumer laws. (Management Extra. 2005, p.105). Environmental laws can now be included in this list. Wind energy has an advantage in this area especially when the laws are strict. Environmental factors: Practically every literate person in the world is aware that environmental degradation is a matter of grave concern. The previous section has mentioned about laws and statues regarding protection. In this context, companies need to look at two things. The first is to see whether the business or activity is in compliance with the statutes. The second is to make sure that the activity does minimum or no damage to the environment. In the case of high polluting industries, steps should be taken to see that waste is managed properly to reduce its hazards to the environment. The UK based organization Transport Visions has in a document titled ‘Vision 2030’ has envisioned an ideal environmental plan that can be implemented by a government with a long term view. Accordingly the main focus should be on “Long term, centrally controlled, sustainable strategies realized through a series of achievable targets.” (Side by Side Comparison of Scenarios / Visions: Control and Plan, p.3) A responsible society will demand that the environment be less noisy and polluting. The need and use of alternate fuels to provide energy will be high. The wind energy scenario in UK: Wind energy is the fastest growing renewable energy source for the last seven years in the world. “The UK may be the windiest country in Europe, but it sits only eighth in the wind power league and generates less than 10 percent of the wind energy produced by world leader, Germany.” (The Windiest Country in Europe. 2001). After the first wind farm in UK was established in 1991, wind energy became the largest renewable energy provider in 2007, by overtaking hydro power. The contribution is 2.2% Political factors. Germany, Spain and Denmark are the leading countries in the wind energy sector and their established capacity is more than that of EU. The industry expert identifies 4 major reason for their success. They are support schemes, New infrastructure, smooth process for gaining consent, and support from local authorities. These factors attracted the wind merchants to form clusters. These clusters provided all the support these investors including infrastructure, funding sources, R&D development etc. And these clusters are the real sources behind the success of these countries. But England was a late entrant into the sector. As per the industry expert argument, lack of good support system was the main reason for this delay. The sector has seen dramatic changes with the introduction of Renewable Obligation Certificate _RO, in 2002. It is a financial incentive scheme to the wind farmers to build wind houses. The introduction of RO helped to increase its capacity from 600ME to 2.5 GW. But it is not at all a satisfying statistics. As per the EU renewable energy-2020, every member state has to attain their target in order to achieve the goal. UK projected contribution is 15%. According to Department for Business Enterprise and Regularity Reform (BERR) and UK’s Renewables Advisory Board(RAB), the UK’s target can be attained only if it add 260TW (Terrra Watt) more. And share of wind energy is estimated as 35-40% as a main contributor. But this could be difficult to achieve as the share of renewable energy in the country (production and imports) was very negligible (Indigenous Production and Imports in 2004). The share of renewable energy in the household sector is also negligible as can be seen from the following chart. (Final Energy Consumption in 2004). The problems relating to wind energy such as grid connectivity, site approval, skilled workforce, undeveloped supply chain systems, weather and climatic conditions etc. have to be addressed as much early as possible. Industry experts rated these items as the most critical challenge before the UK wind energy sector. But the country is witnessing a steady increase in wind energy production as can be seen from the following graph. (Bradbrook 2009). A comparative wind generation power of different manufacturers in the market is provided here. The university can see whether the proposed generators can match those of the potential competitors. It should be noted that the names of the manufacturers (denoted by different colours) are not provided here. This is just for comparison of the competition in the market. “The data shown here is drawn from the power curves published by the manufacturers”. (Comparing the Performance of Small Wind Turbines: Comparing Small Wind Turbines. 2006). Grid connectivity: The places having more wind energy will get grid connection easily while remote places cannot access the same. “The dominant view is that gaining access to grid connectivity and the actual connection of wind farms will remain a challenge.” (The challenge: potential barriers to future growth, Employment opportunities and challenges in the context of rapid industry growth). Site approval: The site approval procedure in is the most difficult thing in England. The main reason is that UK is highly populated area that makes the planning process more complex. But the planning I in offshore is comparatively easier process. Lack of skilled workforce: The industry reports predict that there is a high demand of skilled professionals in the industry in near future. Around 18000-52000 additional; executives are needed to fill this gap. Some specialist role also will have great demand. When the industry is growing, the support of highly skilled professionals is a necessary thing. Undeveloped supply chain: Shortage of necessary items like the supply chain system will be a greater challenge since the shortage will lead to bottleneck in the system that will restrict the continuous flow of the system. The demand for wind generators have grown to such a extent (especially in the organized sector) that manufacturers are finding it difficult to supply the turbines and generators. “We are working with suppliers to ramp up their capacity to ensure smooth supply of components,” says Magued El Daief, GE’s managing director in the UK.” (Chhabara, 2009). This state of affairs is a huge benefit for existing players and new entrants like the one being planned by the University. Climatic and weather conditions: This will be a major problem in offshore project due to the tidal activity and possibility of stormy weather due to nearness to the sea. (Bain Briefs: Grid Connectivity. 2009) But many parts of the country are blessed with enough wind power to power most micro generators and hence as advantage. Political factors: On the whole, the political atmosphere in the country is extremely stable. The country follows a constitutional monarchy and conducts peaceful elections in a democratic way. There is no chance for any political de-stability in the country and businesses and the people can be assured of that. UK government initiated several programmes in order to promote wind energy sector. “The micro-scale wind turbine industry is expanding in the UK with institutional support and UK legislation encouraging the development of numerous companies with a profusion of design options. The application of micro wind turbines in urban environment is encouraged in the UK via a grant scheme which provides a proportion of the initial capital costs.” (Peacock). This is a goof move by the government and will encourage people to use more and more of this clean energy source. Economical Factors “Wind energy is relatively cheap; the estimated cost of generating one kilowatt-hour by wind power is about 8¢, as compared to 5¢ for typical hydropower and 15¢ for nuclear power. The global wind power industry is a $2-billion-a-year business, expanding at a rate of 25% per year.” (Brouchkov). Financial factors: It is depend on the investor’s confidence. The rate of return and loan period will effect the wind project. As per some report indicates a short repayment period and a high rate of return will increase the price. The estimated cash flow and payback period of the project will be a crucial factors of the investors. They are also considering the external factors such a s government policies, financial and foreign exchange market etc. The public authorities will be allowing to re pay the capital for a longer period while private investors are selecting a short range loan period, say 5 year. (Reference: The Economics of Wind Energy. 2007). The cost of generating electricity through wind power has comprised of three costs including Capital cost (cost of building plant and connecting to grid if necessary), running cost (operation and maintenance cost), and cost of financing. In these three capital cost is the big factor which amounts for 70% to 90% of the total cost. These costs will be influenced mainly by two factors. Source of funding: Since the industry offers a bright future, a clear commercial strategy will help them to operate efficiently. Source of funding is one of the main factors in the success of the wind turbine industry. Since the wind energy market is booming, investors are confident to invest in this new energy market. Investors mainly venture capitalist and private equity are investing for 3-6 years. Matured companies had started to raise capital through equity market and other sources. As per theory, corporate finance is better suitable for wind turbine industry. It helps to take strategic and ling term strategies. But these long term strategies should be flexible in sense, it should be ready to accept the changes occurring in the industry. “ Detailed analysis identified that strategic joint ventures or corporate venture funding can be more appropriate for emergent technology industries than growth funded by venture capitalists or IPOs, but the complexity of the route to market in this industry means that ideal funding sources cannot be categorically identified.” (Botha 2007). But as per some researchers, it is found that the source of funding will be determined as per the corporate strategy of each firm. For eg, RES, a wind farm developer, was successful by using corporate venture funding as the source of fund, because the funding strategy and core competency of the firm, were matching. Most of the investment is focused on the onshore projects because venture capitalists are not interested in off shore wind projects since the project duration is more than five years. (Thorpe). Another economic advantage that home owners who use wind power for their homes is that they can export or sell the surplus power to others. “Between 33 and 55% of the electricity generated would be exported dependant on the dwelling's electrical demand. For the high yield site, the simple economic payback of this turbine was found to be 26.8 years i.e. beyond the likely life time of the turbine with CO2 savings of 1093 kg CO2.” (Peacock). Technical: The country is sound generally in the technical and engineering field. It also has a good experience and expertise in manufacturing. Since the wind energy market, is a developing market, the technology have an important factor. It should be updated with the changing technologies. But at the same time it is essential to understand whether the particular technology will be accepted by the market. For eg, Danish company Vetas mainly focused in the smaller turbines. And they were successful due to the market demand. Meanwhile, WEG, (Wind Energy Group) presented technically superior, large turbine. And when the market matured, Vetas were able to take advantage from their earlier success, while WEG has to with draw from the market Even though they were technologically superior. Likewise, Kenetech of US, pressures from the shareholders compelled it to place a high risk technology in the market early, and failed subsequently due to technical failure. (Botha 2007). Technical factors (wind speed, nature of the turbines): If the wind blows two times the normal speed, the energy will also increase to 8 folds. Thus wind farms placed in a windy place will automatically generate more electricity; Likewise the capability of turbines i.e., ability to operate when the wind is available. Since the technology is improving, the cost is cheaper at the same time capacity increased. The trend towards larger trend will reduce the cost further. Because there is only fewer turbines are needed for the same level of output. There are many companies in the world that are engaged in the manufacture of micro-turbines fit for home use. The following web link will show a variety of companies engaged in the manufacture of wind turbines for home and small consumers. Readers can click on follow the link to view the website. (Small Wind Generators-Manufacturers. 2009). The above link is provided not to promote a particular company, but to emphasize the fact that such companies exist. The relationship between wind speed and the power output is shown in the following graph (Fink 2005). Socio-cultural factors: The UK has a rich social and cultural past. The population is aging coupled with low birth rate will make the country a land with more aged people than young ones. At present the percentage of people above the age of 65 years comprise nearly 17% of the population while those between 15 and 64 comprise more than 67% of the population. The population is mainly white, but other racial groups like British Africans and immigrants (mostly Asians) also exist. Literacy rate is nearly 99% for both males and females. (The World Fact Book. 2009). This is advantageous for the country since educating the public towards the benefit of wind power is easier. Awareness about environmental protection is also high even though people acting on it are to be improved. This can be done thorough concerted effort on the part of the government and other social and political organizations. Legal Factors: The UK has a very old and capable legal system. In fact it is one of the oldest constitutions on the modern world. Its legal system is “based on common law tradition with early Roman and modern continental influences; has nonbinding judicial review of Acts of Parliament under the Human Rights Act of 1998.” (The World Fact Book: United Kingdom Legal System. 2009). With regard to the environment there are a number of regulations that seek to protect reduce damage to it. The following are some of the regulations and statutes implemented in the country for the protection of the environment. The main statute is the Environmental Protection Act of 1990. According to its preamble it is an “An Act to make provision for the improved control of pollution arising from certain industrial and other processes.” (Environmental protection Act: Arrangement of Sections. 1990). The Department for Environment, Food and Rural affairs has many regulations and policies that are used for protecting the environment. They include policies and guidelines or handling and reducing waste, pollution prevention and control and an Environmental Liability Directive. There is also the Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act 2008, which given local authorities the power to enforce certain regulations (which include environmental protection). The priary objective of this Act is to provide “the Local Better Regulation Office (LBRO) statutory powers. Originally a limited company, the LBRO promotes more consistency across local authorities in the way they enforce regulations and work with central government.” (Part1: Local Better Regulation Office (LBRO). 2009). As mentioned earlier the more stringent the laws are in a particular country with regard to the environment, the better it is for depending on clean sources energy like wind power. Environmental factors: Traditional sources of energy like coal and oil provide sufficient and economically cheaper energy, but the main problem is that they are non-renewable and polluting. Both these are damaging to the environment. Nuclear energy is also a cheap and comparably clean source of energy. The problem is handling and storage of nuclear waste which is very hazardous to living things. Water is a clean source of energy and is also cheap and renewable. But reservoirs and catchment areas take up a lot of land which can be used productively for other purposes. In this regard, one of the best sources that is the least damaging to the environment is wind energy. Only the wind turbines and the fans will take up any space. But with a small footprint, and more height, the area required for a generator is small and it can be set up in a reasonably sized courtyard. It does not need any fuel to operate and does not generate any waste. Only maintenance of the fans, and turbines are required. There is practically no waste or pollution from this sort of power. The two main factors that root for using this is the total lack of environmental damage and the fact that it is renewable. Unless some major climatic catastrophe happens, the presence of wind power in the country will remain more or less the same for many years to come. This is also the reason why the section on environmental factors was discussed in more detail. The only disadvantage of wind power is the noise generated by the turning fans and the generator. It can be an eyesore on the landscape and be dangerous for birds. Four key trends: After analysis, four expected trends that can happen within the next three years are given below. It is to the advantage of the university since all these trends except the third one will be beneficial to the new ventures. a. The demand for micro wind generating equipment will go up as mentioned earlier. b. This will mean that new companies can succeed in the market because existing players in all possibility will not be able to keep up with this demand. c. The price of the equipment will go down as demand increases. It is better to have an efficient production system so that the new ventures can compete with existing players who have capital costs and depreciation to their advantage. In other words, they already have a facility in place and would have depreciated most of their machinery. This can help them bring the costs down further. d. There will be no major technological breakthrough that can upset the current balance between various energy sources in the next three years. In other words, the scenario will maintain its status quo. Conclusion: The PESTEL analysis of the domestic power generation using wind turbines in homes have been done here. The scenario is highly advantageous for this power to be introduced to bring down dependence on traditional fuels and damage to the environment. The main drawback is the initial cost of setting up, availability of space in the courtyard in urban settings, and willingness (due to awareness and concern) to set up the device. The main responsibility in increasing use lies with the government and local bodies. The UK government is now actively engaged in increasing the use of this energy and also providing subsidies for people. The government and other voluntary agencies should take steps in creating awareness of the benefits of using wind energy for homes. The manufacturers of windmills and turbines can be asked to contribute financially to help with these efforts since they are also benefited from increasing market share. The University should consider this matter and agree to contribute to this effort once the companies are operational. It is a good sign that the government is providing subsidies to homes willing to put up micro wind generators. Not only homes, but offices and other small organizations needing moderate amount of energy can be encouraged to use this form of power. But on the whole, the scenario is becoming very healthy for the usage of wind energy and its use and share will go up to a large extent in the future. This is good news for the company and the markets looks promising especially in the long run. Moreover, the huge supply in demand for wind turbines and generators is beneficial to the two companies. PESTEL analysis is an accepted method of studying markets. But the analysis has been done using secondary data. No first hand analysis using primary data has been done. A survey of households using wind energy for powering their homes with micro wind generators will definitely add validity to the study. For example, the households can be asked about the noise levels and blot to the landscape (regarding environmental factors). They can also be asked whether if surplus power is being sold to outsiders (regarding economic factors). There are also other methods of studying the markets like Porter’s five forces and a SWOT analysis. It is suggested that these two analysis methods also be used before a final decision is made. Then the company can get clearer understanding of itself and also the market. Bibliography Bain Briefs: Grid Connectivity. (2009). [online]. Bain & company. 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