A BLOKE so sick of forking out bucket loads of cash on his energy bills has decided to restore a WINDMILL in his garden to generate his own energy.
James Forsyth, 66, had been splurging £140 a month on electricity until he came up with a mind-blowing idea.
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He decided to restore a derelict 1830s windmill in his back garden – defunct since 1925 – and it is now nearly ready to start spinning again.
The fed-up pensioner from Cambridgeshire explained: “We use around 30 kilowatts a day and our electricity bill was £178 last month.
“I think the windmill will easily cover that.”
Four sails – each measuring 25ft (7.5 metres) – are due to be fitted by the end of August, leaving just the generator to be installed on the top deck ahead of it being functional by 2023.
Other restoration work carried out has included replacing cladding and windows and having a new wooden cap built to go on top of the windmill.
James said the 40-foot (12-metre) windmill in Swaffham Prior will also produce enough electricity to sell back to energy firm Octopus.
The project – which is costing an eye watering £12 million and is partly funded by the government – will also use ground source and air source heat pumps to provide thermal energy to the local village.
While any surplus electricity was generated from the windmilll will be fed back into the National Grid.
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James, who lives with wife Shell, 54, started the project after buying the three-bedroom former corn mill five years ago.
The retired boat builder from Devon said that he expects to pay 9.7p per kilowatt under a Government scheme to heat his home.
While he admits the windmill is not going to produce huge amounts of energy, he hopes it will “promote a more zero-carbon existence for others”.
James declined to reveal the total cost of the project.
But he said: “Saving on bills is the icing on the cake but we’ve still had to buy the cake.
“It’s a huge project both financially and physically. It will take many, many years for us to get the money back but it’s not done for that reason.”
The pensioner said the project cost could have run into triple-figures but – using his and wife Shell’s savings – has stayed below that.
The windmill was constructed sometime between 1835 and 1850 and milled corn until 1925, when it was damaged by a storm and fell into disrepair.
“For us this is fun, we enjoy working on things. It’s really my retirement project”, he said.
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