We want your Urban Turbine photos and stories!

People love the idea of making their own electricity using the wind. But how practical is the idea of putting wind generators in urban areas? This web site will help you explore the possibilities and the myths:

  • Do turbines specifically designed for rooftops really work?
  • What about towers in urban settings?
  • Is a vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) right for my site?
  • How can I figure out how much energy is available at my wind site?
  • Can I trust a turbine to put out as much energy as the manufacturer claims?
  • How tall should a tower be?

Please upload your photos of Urban Turbines, and tell their stories along with them. One photo and story per entry, please. You must be logged into a verified account (to thwart spammers), but beyond that everything is as anonymous as you want it to be.Bookmark and Share

Ivan Forbes Wind Power Pioneer

Mon, 07/13/2009 - 6:17pm — Joel Davidson

Ivan Forbes and his son, Glenn, have been working on a vertical axis design for over 30 years. See article starting on page 25.
http://www.lacity.org/san/biosolidsems/downloads/TIRE/Alive_200706_Main-ArticleOnTIRE.pdf

This installer should be drawn & quartered

Mon, 03/30/2009 - 4:28pm — Fred
This installer should be drawn & quartered

Here's a picture of a Skystream down by the Arch in St. Louis. That’s about a 10 story building you can see in the background. I wish I could take a picture of the ~4kW solar array on the south roof. It’s totally shadowed by that building most of the day throughout the year.

Mariah Power Turbine shut down indefinitely

Mon, 03/30/2009 - 4:07pm — Fred
Mariah Power Turbine shut down indefinitely

I saw a Mariah Power Turbine in St. Louis a few months ago. We stopped by after working a project nearby and bumped into some people working at the private school where it is installed. Apparently the turbine shakes and gyrates so badly it scares everyone around and since it’s at a school there’s kids walking literally within feet of it they have been forced to wrap a chunk of romex (see picture) wire and ratchet straps around the rotor to prevent it from turning.

I hadn’t even heard of them until this. The sign in front of the turbine says “Why does the turbine wobble? And I’m not making this up. “The Willow is Stronger then the Oak because it bends in the wind”. The sign also says its bird and butterfly friendly. Apparently it’s not kindergartner friendly so they had to shut it down. The picture does not do the horror of the install justice.

Note the glass green house (wouldn’t that be a train wreck if that turbine came apart?) and 4 story building shadowing the vertical turbine.

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