STROUD-based Ecotricity has sold more than £1 million worth of small windmills to Japan, making it the UK’s leading wind energy exporter.

Britwind, based in Bath Road, South Woodchester, is part of Ecotricity and launched in 2014 producing windmills designed and made in Britain.

The green energy company has now shipped 130 5kw wind turbines to Japan in the past 18 months, with 30 set to be dispatched by the end of March, totalling a cost of £1.3 million.

Dale Vince, founder of Ecotricity, the second biggest employer in the Stroud district, said: “I like what’s happening in Japan in response to the Fukishima nuclear incident.

“The Japanese government is backing renewable energy and has created a real opportunity for wind power.”

The latest shipment will include Britwind’s new H15 windmills, a 15kw machine that can power the equivalent of 13 homes.

Mr Vince said: “We’ve built on the engineering experience of the 5kW machine, which is the most successful small windmill to ever to come out of Britain.

“The H15 is special, it’s super-efficient, cheap to maintain, and breaks new ground for the cost at which small windmills can deliver energy.

“It is the beginning of a family of small windmills to choose from depending on the wind conditions, with vertical-axis machines coming in the future.”

Standing at an average height of 25m, the horizontal-axis windmill has a power rating of 15kW.

It’s available in two versions to optimise use in higher or lower wind speed sites, offers high reliability, and low maintenance, with only three wearing parts.

Ecotricity says H15 windmills will be suitable for many types of landowners from farmers and rural properties, to schools, sporting clubs, as well as small, medium and large businesses.