SANTA
CLARA -- Intel is turning the roof of its Santa Clara headquarters into a
mini-wind farm with what it says is one of the largest micro-turbine
arrays in the country.
The V-shaped formation of 58 wind-powered turbines, being
installed this week, is expected to generate about 65 kilowatt-hours of
power that will be used to provide electricity to the conference center
in the rambling Robert Noyce Building on Mission Boulevard.
The chipmaker called the micro-turbines a "proof of concept" project.
"We are trying to understand how this type of technology
integrates into Intel and where are the best locations for it around the
world," said Marty Sedler, director of Intel's global utilities and
infrastructure.
"We'll share the data and share the information so other people can apply it to their own businesses and homes," he said.
The micro-turbines are 6 to 7 feet tall, weigh about 30 pounds
each and are positioned at the roof's edge where they can gather the
most wind, which averages about 8 to 9 miles per hour in the area. They
share the roof with an array of solar panels.
"This is just another prong adding to our sustainability program," Sedler said
Intel's new wind turbines arrive at a time when major tech
companies are turning to green power. Apple and Google announced green
projects in February. Apple is building a solar farm in Monterey County
and Google is developing a forest of wind turbines on Altamont Pass near
Livermore.Intel says it has been green for years, and was recently
recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, for the seventh
year in a row, as the largest voluntary purchaser of green power in the
country. It has solar installations on 12 Intel campuses in the U.S.,
Israel and Vietnam that generate more than 12 million kilowatt-hours of
power per year of clean energy, as well as a solar hot water system that
supplies nearly all the needs of Intel's two campuses in India.
The new array "is one of the
largest we've identified anywhere," Sedler said. "One of the things
Intel does that's a little different from other companies is that all
the projects we have done to date have been on our campuses. It's not
the answer, it's one of the answers. The key is to get off the grid."
http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_28164774/intel-catches-wind-rooftop-micro-turbine-array
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