Seventeen small turbines are going to be installed in a Sam’s Club parking lot in Palmdale, California atop existing light poles. The turbines are expected to produce 76,000 kilowatts of energy (enough to power six single-family homes for a year).
According to the article, “Under a power purchase agreement, the wind development firm Deerpath Energy would own the turbines and Wal-Mart would buy the power they produce.”
Wind as a power source is part of an energy trend in the American landscape.
Last year, 10,000 small turbines were sold to homes, farms and businesses nationwide, said Ron Stimmel, who specializes in small wind systems at the American Wind Energy Assn. in Washington, D.C. The figure represents a 78% increase over the previous year, attributed in part to cheaper prices and federal tax credits. The systems are concentrated in states with the best rebate policies — and a good supply of wind — including California, Wisconsin, New York, Ohio and Vermont.
“Small wind systems have a similar potential for growth as the solar industry,” Stimmel said. “This is very well on its way to becoming mainstream.” — Palmdale parking lots to double as power plants — latimes.com
Related Links
- American Wind Energy Association (AWEA)
- DeerPath Energy (Marblehead, MA)
- Eco Depot USA (Chaffee County, CO)
The North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) reported in September 2009 an all time record of certification exams from the Spring 2009. This is an indicator that going green is continuing to be grow in popularity.
According to the Colorado Solar Energy Industries Association “
The 
Progressive ecological thinking has finally established itself for applications that have traditionally used solid paving.
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