The U.S. Embassy in Helsinki, Finland is installing TurboMill micro-wind turbines to generate renewable energy. The wind turbines are manufactured by WindStream Technologies and the initiative is part of the embassy’s membership in the “League of Green Embassies” program that encourages energy efficiency and green building strategies.

The TurboMill is durable enough to survive for years in harsh winters as well as scalable so if the embassy’s energy needs grow, they can add more micro wind-turbines to their system. While many turbines need generous wind speeds to generate electricity, the TurboMill can generate energy even from low winds of ranging from only 4-5 mph.

The League of Green Embassies is a consortium of about 80 U.S. embassies that are working to incorporate the very best in new U.S. company products and technologies for energy efficiency and cost savings. The installation was highlighted at an embassy press event with Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday, March 8.

“The League of Green Embassies is deeply committed to promoting energy efficient and high performance building practices,” said Ambassador Bruce Oreck. “U.S. embassies are perfect venues to illustrate U.S. green leadership. We want to promote U.S. companies with intelligent building products, services and technologies. WindStream’s innovative product fits well into this effort.”