·      The UK is the windiest country in Europe, so much so that we could power our country several times over using this free fuel.

·      A modern wind turbine is designed to run continuously for over 20 years, or for 120,000 hours. By comparison, the design life time of a car engine is 20 times less at only 4,000 to 6,000 hours, even if the car “life” is 15 or more years.

·      Wind turbines are a remarkably robust technology, designed to be operated remotely, needing only about 40 hours maintenance time per year. There are wind turbines installed and generating electricity in the desert, the Arctic and in the North Sea.

·      The blades on a modern wind turbine convert the mechanical energy in 48 tons of air every second, travelling at about 7 metres/second, that's the same as 2 double decker buses travelling at 30mph.

·      Every unit of electricity from a wind turbine displaces one from conventional power stations: wind turbines in the UK currently prevent the emission of one and three-quarter millions tonnes of carbon dioxide each year.

·      The impetus for modern wind turbines came with the oil crisis of the mid-70s and the technology advanced so rapidly that wind energy is listed as one of the top ten inventions of the 1980's.

·      In the last 20 years, the power production of wind turbines has increased by a factor of 100, while the costs of generating electricity from the wind has fallen by 80%.

·      Wind is the fastest growing energy source worldwide, and has been for over a decade with an annual growth rate of 30%.

·      The global wind industry has an estimated annual turnover of £5.5 billion, 84% of which is based in Europe.