As large-scale wind farms continue to multiply across rural landscapes, building owners in denser locations are looking to save some green with pint-sized wind turbines. But the financial reward is not always the biggest factor weighing on owners’ minds, experts say.
Concerns over energy prices and fossil fuels also have small wind blowing from all directions. The Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corp. is spending $25 million to put up rooftop turbines in New York, while a $11.2-million, low-income housing project designed by Helmut Jahn in Chicago has been generating rooftop power since 2007. A low-noise, 1.5-kilowatt turbine atop a 78-year-old theater in the sagging, industrial town of Muskegon, Mich., started turning this summer and is breathing life into renewables there. Even late-night comedian and gas-guzzling car collector Jay Leno has a wind turbine atop his Big Dog Garage in Burbank, Calif.