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Berkeley,
California (Wednesday, September 5, 2007) - With
the installation of a new tower and wind turbine, the City of Berkeley’s
Shorebird Park Nature Center will become the first municipal site in the
U.S. to be powered by both the wind and the sun, and the first of
this model in California.
On Monday,
September 10, 2007, at 2 p.m., Berkeley will raise the tower for the first
wind turbine on a city building. With
a height of only 35 feet, the tower and turbine will be visible from Interstate
80, but will still be below bird migration height. This project has
received the support of the Golden Gate Audubon Society.
The turbine
is expected to produce between 60 and 80 percent of the building's
electrical needs.
Heating and hot water for the new classroom building will be
provided by a solar hot water system, which also currently serves
the City’s straw bale building at the Nature Center.
The
turbine, a SkyStream 3.7 manufactured by Southwest Windpower of Flagstaff,
Ariz., was donated to the City. It is one of roughly two dozen wind
turbines that are eligible for the California Energy Commission's renewable
energy rebate program. The program provides rebates for consumers
who install qualifying small wind systems, and more information can
be found at http://www.consumerenergycenter.org/erprebate/.
For more
information, please contact Alice La Pierre, Project
Manager, at 510-981-5435, or email Energy@ci.berkeley.ca.us.
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