I almost bought a wind turbine. I want to be able to harness natural resources and I'm worried about our polluting of the planet.

But.... I'm glad I didn't invest in a turbine.

When I pressed the vendor if he could stand by his claims for the power generation, he went all furtive and withdrew his original offer.

He said I'd get my money back and even be able to sell electricity BACK to the utility companies. Sounds brilliant.

But he couldn't give me a single example of anyone that does this.

In the past, I've bought a couple of solar panels, and neither of them worked.

I do use a wind up radio though.

Can anyone help me? I want a real example of power generation. What's the average power generated by a wind turbine? (I want the real figures, not the idealistic figures)

I looked a Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's river cottage web site, which publishes daily figures for power generation, and the figures don't look too impressive.

I want to build a machine that translates my physical exertions into useful energy. For example. If I could row for an hour, I might be able to turn a drum and get my laundry done.

Or cycle on a stationary bike and use that energy to turn a turbine or grind up all the packaging from my dustbin.

Where do I start looking for equipment?

Thanks