OSU developed a small-scale turbine

CORVALLIS, Ore., Dec. 29 (UPI) -- An engineering professor at Oregon State University has helped to design a miniature wind turbine that is better suited for powering buildings in more populated areas.

"There are only a few wind turbine manufacturers in the U.S., and they've been telling city planners, architects and building owners for years that they haven't designed their wind turbines to be placed on or around buildings," said Tom Zambrano of AeroVironment. "But no one understands wind resources better than OSU and Stel Walker says the wind in the Pacific Northwest doesn't stop at city lines."

The new small-scale turbine would be put in rows on buildings allowing power generation in urban and suburban arease instead of only from wind farms in rural areas with large turbines.

"When wind senses an object in its path, such as a building, its velocity can increase as it shoots up and over the roofline," said Stel Walker, OSU professor. "This depends, however, on the architectural design of the building and landscaping design of the surrounding property. The new turbines are designed to be installed on existing commercial building designs and can work with other renewable energy technologies such as photovoltaic."

The turbine is small, about 4 feet tall, quiet and aesthetically pleasing. It is attached to a track that runs along the perimeter of a roof. Depending on the size of the building, the number of turbines can vary.