Finance Options for Wind Turbines

Written-by

Janet Richardson

Reviewed-by

Richard Burdett

Updated on

Jan 07, 2026

Finance Options for Wind Turbines

Financing a Wind Turbine

Finding the right finance for your own wind turbine installation is one of the main considerations for many businesses or homes who want to use it as a renewable energy source. There are a range of avenues to explore, including whether you just want to rent out the ground for a supplier to use or you want to own the wind turbine outright and benefit from the profits of a Smart Export Guarantee (SEG).

Renting Out Your Property for a Wind Turbine

There are a number of installers and companies that will pay you a set ground rent if you let them put in a wind turbine on your property. The caveats are that you will need to have land that is suitable for a wind farm and a wind speed that will produce a good enough return. The benefit for the company is that they earn profits from the sale of electricity under long-term power purchase agreements or export tariffs over the lifetime of the installation.

You may also be able to benefit from cheaper electricity costs during that time. Another option that many installers provide is the chance to go 50-50 on the investment, whereby you provide the finance for half the installation and get half the benefits over the 20–30 years that the turbine is in place.

2026 Lender and Grant Reality

In 2026, financing options for wind turbines in the UK remain more limited and specialist than for technologies such as solar PV. Key points to be aware of include:

• No direct government grants are currently available specifically for domestic or commercial wind turbine installations in England.
• Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) remains the primary revenue mechanism for exported electricity, but rates and eligibility vary by supplier.
• Mainstream residential lenders are generally cautious about funding domestic wind turbines due to site-specific performance and resale considerations.
• Agricultural and rural lenders are more likely to support wind projects, particularly where land, wind resource and long-term revenue can be demonstrated.
• Commercial-scale projects typically rely on bespoke finance, including asset finance, power purchase agreements (PPAs), or developer-led funding models.
• Any finance offer will usually require robust wind data, planning clarity, grid connection confirmation, and professional feasibility assessments.

As a result, careful financial planning and specialist advice are essential before committing to a wind turbine project.

Financing Your Own Wind Turbine

The cost of wind turbines is greater than most other renewable sources. Whereas a set of solar panels may cost you around £6,000–£8,000 for a 4 kW system, a similar pole mounted wind turbine could cost in the region of £20,000–£30,000. Bigger systems like a 15 kW turbine may well set you back £60,000–£80,000. Obviously, how much you spend is going to be determined by the return on investment and how much profit you earn from the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) and cheaper electric bills.

The good news is that the bigger the system the more likely you are to benefit and the payback period is often shorter for well-sited larger systems, though results vary by site. Find out how much money your wind turbine is likely to make you here. For most wind turbine installations you are going to need two types of finance:

• First of all you will need development at-risk capital which will be used to explore how suitable the site is and your planning application.
• Secondly you will need capital for the actual construction, buying the turbine and having it installed.

Other Sources of Finance

You will need to be clear on the return on investment that your new turbine is going to provide but there are number of sources where you can get finance apart from your own bank.

• NatWest have an agriculture division that may offer tailored finance products for farms and rural businesses, subject to eligibility and credit approval. Find out more about what they can offer here.
• Rural Finance Ltd also deal in agricultural finance and provide a specialist service to farmers and rural communities. Find out more here.
• The Carbon Trust is an international organisation that can help small businesses become more eco-friendly with the option of advice, support and, in some cases, access to finance schemes, as well as guidance on the best renewable solutions. Find out more about The Carbon Trust here.
• Eastern Counties Finance provides a wide range of support to farms and rural businesses including advice on farm energy finance. 
• If you have land that would be suitable for a wind turbine or even a wind farm and you would like to lease that out rather than build yourself, then you can contact a company like Renewables First who will be able to judge if you are suitable.

The other option for many rural areas is to make larger constructions a community effort. An example is the Valley Wind Co-operative in Colne that is aiming to help produce cleaner and cheaper energy for the local residents.

Tips for Choosing the Right Finance Options

Be sure that you have the right information at hand – What kind of wind turbine installation do you want? What is the return of investment likely to be? What are the areas that may need additional financing? In other words, be prepared. Explore a range of financing opportunities from your own bank to more specialist providers, as well as installers who offer finance options.

Finance opportunities are starting to increase for renewables as the industry starts to take off. As with any industry there will be those who look for best practice and those that want to make a quick buck. Make sure you take the right legal advice and check any contract carefully, especially if you have opted to lease your land out for the development of a wind farm or single turbine.

Should You Consider a Wind-Solar Hybrid?

Of all the renewable energies available for homes and businesses, wind turbine power is probably the most problematical when it comes to gaining the right finance. A number of urban sites such as schools have opted for a combination of wind and solar to provide their energy needs. The cheaper building mounted wind turbines may perform better in winter months, whilst the solar draws in the energy more over the summer months.