The 500 kw solar array is being built in place on top of the largest building at the Harvard owned, The Arsenal. The Arsenal was used during the two world wars to manufacture field artillery, guns and ammunition.

The new array is expected to generate over 600,000 kw hours of electricity a year, just over 7% of the electricity used by the tenants. The energy consumed is enough to power over 30 homes, and is the equivalent of removing over 40 cars from our roads.

In addition, Harvard is installing two 10 kw wind generators on the Soldiers Field Park Garage, as well as solar thermal for two residential properties and smaller wind generators on top of Holyoke Center in Harvard Square.

The projects they’re considering include, 150 mw Keenan Wind Project in Woodward County, the Taloga Wind Project in Dewey County and the NoMans Land Project in Texas County.

The additions of the new wind farms will go a long way towards Oklahoma’s own renewable energy goals, making Oklahoma the place where the wind energy comes sweeping off the plains.

wind

OG&E supplies power to over ¾ million customers in Oklahoma and western Arkansas.

The overall cost was around ten grand, but, that money will quickly be recouped in energy savings.

You can find these kits at many places, you can find them online, Amazon even carries some, as does Samsclub.

Awea.org tells us that a typical home uses about 9,400 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity per year. That’s about 780 kWh per month. They also say that dependent upon the average wind speed in the area, a wind turbine rated in the range of 5 to 15 kilowatts would be required to make a significant contribution to meet this demand.

I took a look at one of Sams wind generators. A 400 watt system sans tower runs about $600. Probably only big enough to run an appliance or two, not big enough to run your whole house.

I noticed Amazon has one that’s bigger, they’ve a 900 watt one for around two grand. That’s not ‘blowin’ in the wind’.

If we use the figure about of 780 kwh per month (for a typical home) that would be about 26 kwh per day. A kilowatt is 1000 watts. So the typical home would use 2600 watts per day.

If you live in an area with steady winds it looks like the higher priced model might be able to consume a third of your electric bill. Payout would be pretty quick considering the low cost of the turbine (when compared to a solar system.)

Oklahoma, where the wind comes sweeping down the plain…

Oklahoma is near the top of the states in wind energy production. It’s currently in 12th place, but state industry leaders expect that number to soar into the top two within the next twenty years. If wind energy production continues to climb in Oklahoma, by 2030, Oklahoma could be producing 10 percent of the entire nation’s electricity.

Of course, there are problems. The electric grid must be updated in order for Oklahoma wind power to reach far and wide.

With the wind industry comes jobs. Manufacturing jobs. Maintenance jobs and more.

The recent Oklahoma Wind Commerce was held in Norman. Several hundred people attended just days after the state launched it’s ninth wind farm (near Elk City).

wind generator

Now I knew there were some around, and I’d seen them from a distance, but, whoa, up close it’s a magnificent sight.

wind generator

These were all around the city of Weatherford. They weren’t in rows like one would think but effectively placed all around the outskirts of this small city.

Whoo hoo – Look at ‘em go! Free energy!

This dealership boasts the cream of the crop in energy efficiency.

They’ve installed a wind generator! Ever saw a wind generator at a new car dealer? Me either! They plan on using the power generated from the wind system to power the LED lights signage. They’ve installed a high efficiently air conditioning system and used insulated glass on all the exterior walls.

Their landscaping includes over 370 trees and incorporates a rainwater cistern as its water source.

There are no solar panels on the building, at least not yet, that’s still in the planning stages. They’re also considering adding a Flex Fuel station.

Inside, they are installing a 40 foot waterfall that cascades into a 5000 gallon aquarium, outside, they are building an amphitheatre.

What else could they think of?

Well, they also included TWO dog parks (for the customers bringing their canine friends) and a huge playground for the kiddos!

Mark Heitz is certainly thinking outside the normal ‘car dealership’ box!