Wind turbines to be used even in apartment buildings
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By Jukka Perttu
Small-scale wind turbines are on their way to being used in summer cottages, detached houses, and even in apartment buildings.
”The demand for small wind generators has grown exponentially”, reports Marketing Director Miamari Siitonen from Eagle Windpower, a company offering solutions for onshore wind power.
Eagle Windpower has concluded contracts to deliver 150 small-scale wind turbines for various Finnish sites.
For example, three wind turbines are to be delivered to the Linnanmäki Amusement Park in Helsinki.
In the City of Lahti, a 5 Kw wind power unit is to be mounted on the roof of an apartment building in connection with a renovation project.
The turbine is to generate electricity for example for stairway lighting. When the turbine is ready mounted high up on the roof, there is no need for a tall mast.
”We have an idea of starting to develop active energy buildings with one of the construction companies. Such buildings could produce energy by exploiting wind power, thermal energy, or solar panels”, Siitonen explains.
The buyer of an apartment in a condominium would also get a part-ownership in the wind power park of the condominium.
Entrepreneur Jani Nurminen from JN Solar, a company specialised in renewable energy solutions, confirms what Siitonen said: people’s interest in small-scale wind power units has increased.
”Most of the turbines go to summer cottages. The most popular models are the 500 and 1,000W turbines”, Nurminen reports.
The Säkylä-based JN Solar, which was established in 2007, has also sold a number of larger, more efficient turbines to single-family houses. This year the sales of such units are estimated to amount to around ten.
The sales of the company’s small-scale wind generators are likely to remain below 50, Nurminen estimates.
”For example, a 2 Kw turbine costs EUR 2,500”, says Nurminen.
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 9.10.2009
More on this subject:
 Roof-mounted wind turbine generates heat for house in Vantaa
Links:
Eagle Wind Power
JN-Solar (in Finnish)
JUKKA PERTTU / Helsingin Sanomat
jukka.perttu@hs.fi
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