USA - Computers powered by wind power

People look up and ask questions like, "What in the world?" or "Is that building gonna' take off?" or "Whose idea are those things?" Those passersby are gawking at wind turbines on the roof of Arizona State University's Global Institute of Sustainability building on the Tempe campus. Wind turns the turbines' propellers and produces enough electricity, per turbine, to power about six computers over 24 hours. "That may not seem like a whole lot of electricity, but the turbines are models of what can be done to reduce energy costs," institute spokeswoman Lauren Kuby said. "We want to model alternatives for sustainable energy. We are a conveyer of best practices."

The Global Institute evolved from ASU's Center For Environmental Studies and the institute's School of Sustainability offers bachelor's, and, by next fall, graduate degrees. The six turbines were purchased and placed on the building under the direction of ASU Senior Project Manager Mohammad Madjidi, who said the turbines cost $10,000 each. "They are Parapet Wind Turbines, which means they utilize not only crosswinds, but also rising heat from the building produces convection wind which the turbines use," Madjidi said. "The turbines will make electricity from as little as a 5 mph wind, but produce power at the maximum with a 27 to 32 mph wind. With that they produce 1,000 watts."

Madjidi said the electricity is fed into the Arizona Public Service power grid. Madjidi said that while it's clear that wind turbine electricity is not the sole answer to providing electrical power, "the turbines are a demonstration of what is to come. They demonstrate new prospects." Kuby said the turbines will be commissioned Saturday. She also said that solar panels soon will be installed on the building's roof as part of the university's plan to solarize about 310,000 square feet of university roofs.