Wind power coming soon to the Delmar Loop
Work is underway to finish by Aug. 14 the $3 million rehab of the three-story building Washington University owns at the corner of Skinker and Delmar boulevards.
Students will live in the 16 apartments on the top two floors. But the building’s most visible feature will be the 6-foot vertical wind turbines on the roof. They will generate a bit of the building’s electrical power and also provide a distinctive sight on the Delmar Loop.
The appearance won’t be as elaborate as first considered, however. When the project came up last year before the St. Louis Preservation Board, the project’s architect said 14 rooftop turbines could spin within a decorative framework.
Steve Rackers, the university’s director of capital projects, and Mike Benoist, the project manager, said today that only seven turbines will line the rooftop facing Delmar. The turbine maker determined that crowding the rooftop with 14 turbines would inhibit their operation, Rackers and Benoist said. The framework is out of the project because it would block too much wind, they said.
The Preservation Board’s approval was needed because the turbines will alter the roofline of the university’s building, at 6193 Delmar, which is within the Skinker-DeBalivere Historic District. Adding to the building’s distinctive new appearance will be nighttime lighting on the turbines.
Trivers Associates is the project’s architect. Paric Corp. is the contractor.
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I’d bet Ameren-UE are doo-dooing in theirs pants over this project.NOT!!!
This will “generate a bit” of the building’s power? How much? What percentage? Seven turbines seems like a lot for one building.
What about when it’s one of our steamy, air-is-still-and-moist, St. Louis summer days? Do the turbines just sit idle looking interesting?
It’s stories like these that lead to suspicion of wind power as a viable alternative for round-the-clock reliable electric power. I’m willing, and more so every time I receive a steep Ameren bill, but I’d like some basic information such as the answers to the questions above. The grid stinks, but I’m afraid to step from it because the alternatives seem dicey.
the next time the power goes out in my U-City house for a week (which it has done 3 of the past 6 years), the students that live here might still have some juice. Sounds great to me.
not sure why these measures always meet so much pessimism. isolated wind power installations are not intended to generate 100% of the electricity for the buildings, only reduce the power drawn from the grid. reduced demand for electricity in turn reduces need to build more power plants.
From Tim Bryant . . .
To the question of how much power the turbines will produce, the answer is . . . not much. An earlier plan calling for 14 rooftop turbines would have generated enough power to run about half the building’s lights. The people in charge of this building rehab say the turbines to be installed this summer are being put up as much for looks as they are for electricity production.
Those turbines will cost a little over $100,000 and will generate about $2500 worth of electricity each year, and they will last about 15 years. So today’s final exam question is this…
Could you make a better investment with the $100,000?
my favorite part of this is how the wind turbines (that dont generate any signifigant amount of electricy) will be lit up at night by coal burning electrical power plants so we can all look up at them and think about how “green” we are by having these wind turbines.
i cant wait until we start burning coal at 2x the rate (for the same amount of electricity produced) in the coal gassification plants they are building now.
I love how this becomes a green vs no green, left thinking vs right thinking debate. LOL!!!! this is why I’m an independant. These things are meant to suplement the power, not be an alternative. We need to step up power production in EVERY way. More wind, more nat gas, more clean coal, more oil, more hydroelectric, more solar. The answer to the energy problem can’t be solved by the idiots on the right (Who would couldn’t care less if we destory the planet so long as the free market says it’s okay) or the idiots on the right (who live in some world where we can actually satisfy our energy needs through all renewables). Additional wind power is good, whether you are Rush Limbaugh or, Al Franken. The death of this country will be the left vs right debate. Count on it!!!
bring it the loop can do it right by mixing art and green power powerful sculpture a model hopefully Joe is plugged into this thing
This is awesome. Communities from Hawaii to MA are allowing rooftop wind turbines now. A friend of mine jist got a system from WindEnergy7.com and the hybrid wind/solar kit just goes on the roof. The residential turbine kits come with everything. Roof Turbine
There is no stopping the technology because people have found out that they can get systems like this and get off the grid. You don’t have to really know how to build one, because thier kit comes with everything you need and works very well. These residential turbines from WindEnergy7 are going up all over the united states from what I read at their website. These comanies like WindEnergy7 have developed really good kits to help homeowners do it. This all over the US now.
Nikki, the answer to your question is yes, I can make a better investment. Despite the recession, I project $100,000 now invested in the funds I have carefully selected (all which beat the S&P 500 3, 5, and 10 year averages) will double in 9.5 years (the normal doubling is every 7 years for my portfolio). You get a 2.5 percent return per year for 15 years, but the savings are the same every year, not compounded. Saving $37,500 on wind power for 15 years on a $100,000 investment isn’t a very good investment. I’d rather use electricity and gas and invest money is those utilities and energy producers, just like I invest in oil companies to offset increases at the gas pump.