An Austin, Texas company says it is about ready to offer wind turbines that can be installed on top of buildings… not just open fields.
This story from KVUE-TV in Austin says Building Turbines hopes to cash in on the need for alternative energy, while making use of urban areas and high-rise buildings:
“The blades are UV-protected, sail-type material that you would walk on like a catamaran,” said John Graham, company owner. “We can actually engineer it to tear in high winds. So if there is a hurricane or tornado you could engineer it to tear at 59 miles per hour if you want.”
Graham has been working with his two sons to perfect the turbine. They can monitor the energy the wind turbine produces from their offices below.
The final prototype was finished in early 2009, and it costs around $23,000. Graham says it should pay for itself in about five years.
The turbines are also built low to the roof surface. “They have yet to kill a bird, and it’s quiet. Our offices are right below it and it doesn’t bother anybody,” he said.
This isn’t the first rooftop wind turbine to hit the market. As you might remember from my post back on August 13, 2008, JCPenney installed BroadStar’s unique wind turbines at its massive 1.6 million-square-foot distribution center in Reno, Nevada. But in my opinion, the more in the wind energy business, the merrier.
You can see a short clip of how Building Turbines wind turbines work here: