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Renewable Devices Swift Turbines Ltd (RDST), a small company based in Edinburgh, has designed and brought to market the 'Swift' roof-mounted wind turbine, which has a rated power output of 1.5 kW. Installations started in August 2004, and over 200 Swifts have now been supplied.

There is considerable interest in technologies to generate electricity or heat from renewable sources within the buildings where the energy is used. Such technologies can contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, in parallel with larger-scale renewables and increased efficiency of energy use. Solar electric (photovoltaic) systems, and both solar and biomass heating systems for buildings are already on the market. In many regions, including parts of the UK, there is more potential resource to supply buildings from wind energy than from either solar or biomass, and over 60 companies worldwide (both small organisations and multinational corporations) are developing micro-wind turbines for this application.

There are significant challenges in developing a wind turbine which is small enough, and aesthetically acceptable for mounting on a building, and still produces a useful electricity output at a reasonable cost. Safety, noise, effect on the building and maintenance needs must all be considered. The Ashden judges commended RDST for addressing all these challenges in bringing to market one of the first micro-wind turbines, and also for raising interest in micro-wind worldwide.