Wind turbines on top of a downtown Portland building will be a learning lab for small, urban wind-power systems.
Wind turbines on top of a downtown Portland building will be a learning lab for small, urban wind-power systems.
By the end of today, the graceful blades of four 45-foot-tall wind turbines are expected to begin spinning above the glossy new Twelve West Building, one of a handful of urban high-rises nationally that capture wind for electricity. The project, built downtown at Southwest 12th Avenue and Washington Street by sustainability leader Gerding Edlen Development Co., already has piqued international interest.
No one claims the turbines will shrink Portland’s carbon footprint. They will produce about 9,000 kilowatt hours yearly — 1 percent of the building’s electricity needs.
But they will be a much-needed learning lab for the possibilities of small, urban wind-power systems. And the details of their development and installation will be available to other developers and urban leaders.
Read the full story in the Oregonian.
