Boston-based Massport has partnered with AeroVironment, Monrovia, Calif., and Groom Energy Solutions, Salem, Mass., to install 20 building-integrated wind turbines at Boston Logan International Airport. Measuring 6 feet in diameter, the wind turbines will be installed on the airport's roof. The demonstration project is expected to provide electrical output of approximately 100,000kWh annually.
If the demonstration project meets its goal of reducing building energy, Massport will consider expanding the turbine installations to other Massport facilities. “Like using solar photovoltaic panels to generate electricity where there is space on the roof and limited shading from the sun, this system produces electricity by capitalizing on a great wind resource available at the Massport location,” says John Guerster, CEO of Groom Energy Systems.
Each module of the 1,000-watt wind turbine system fastens to the parapet of a building, weighs about 90 pounds, and measures approximately 6 feet in height by 8 feet in width. This urban turbine is designed to continue to produce electricity under turbulent wind conditions in both low and high wind speed environments.
