Wind turbine at the Great Lakes Science Center. Photo from commons.wikimedia.org
As we drove through Cleveland Ohio, I was impressed by the giant wind turbine in the middle of downtown surrounded by solar arrays. It turns out it was the Great Lakes Science Center. After miles of driving it was exciting to see. We weren’t in good weather to take pictures but I found these photos online.
I can’t think of a time I’ve seen a large wind turbine located so close to the downtown of a city. The turbine offsets 7% of the center’s usage which is substantial. And I think it’s a great use of the great lake on which the turbine lives.
The wind turbine has a ring of pole mounted solar. It produces 100kWh on average which says to me that it is around a 60kW system (give or take based off of the weather there). Not a huge system but in terms of visibility and aesthetic, it’s huge. Imagine how many people pass by this array and get a positive impression. The solar array is made possible through funding from Cleveland Foundation, Ferro Corporation and the U.S. Department of Energy. Additional partners include Panzica Construction, Doty & Miller Architects and GE Energy. Luckily for me, I found this picture on the Doty & Miller website!
Solar array at the Great Lakes Science Center. Image from dotyandmiller.com