THERE S not many people who can proudly say they own their own wind turbine. But that s exactly the case for John Blake, who recently invested about £18,000 as part of his bid to go green. A keen environmentalist, Mr Blake decided to invest the money in a

THERE'S not many people who can proudly say they own their own wind turbine.

But that's exactly the case for John Blake, who recently invested about £18,000 as part of his bid to go green.

A keen environmentalist, Mr Blake decided to invest the money in a 12-metre tall wind turbine, which stands at the back of his property in Three Holes, near Wisbech. The turbine generates enough electricity to run his home and business.

On Wednesday, Mr Blake officially opened his new turbine in a small ceremony, attended by representatives from the organisations which helped him to set up the machine. Mr Blake already runs an environmentally-friendly company, CFC disposal, based in Christchurch, which disposes of electrical equipment though recycling and reuse.

Mr Blake said he also uses a biomass boiler.

He said: "The turbine is an environmentally-sound idea, and I have been environmentally-conscious for many years. It has been very easy to do, the biggest problem was finding the funding."

He said they had been helped through a grant from Clear Skies.

But he added: "We felt strongly enough about doing our bit for the environment, we were happy to sideline the money to fund it, and I would advise other people and companies to buy one as well."

He said the process had been made easy through the support of the company Segen, which installed the Iskar AT5-1 turbine and helped with the planning application for the structure.

Lee Baxter, from the company, said as well as the environmental benefits, installing a wind turbine could also dramatically reduce the electricity bills. Any surplus electricity generated from the turbine can then be sold back to the energy companies, as the turbine is already connected to the national grid.

Mr Blake plans to eventually transfer his company to Three Holes and this will also be run on electricity generated from the turbine.