September 18, 2009, 09:00 AM ET

Wind Farm Takes Root at Quinnipiac U.

A model of the wind garden: It looks calming, but it really works when the wind is blowing. (Image courtesy Centerbrook Architects)

Quinnipiac University, which has grown like crazy recently, is setting up a calm-looking wind farm. It looks more like a garden, actually, with its microturbine cluster at the top of a hill.

Quinnipiac will use 25 vertical turbines called Windspires. They are likely to offset only a small amount of the energy that the university is using in its growth spurt, generating a projected 32,626 kilowatt-hours annually, which will amount to a reduction of 26,370 pounds in greenhouse gases, according to the manufacturer. That is about equal to the annual emissions of an average American house, according to some calculations.

Previous post: Shop Talk: Friday, September 18