photo by David Browning, El Centro College vice president for business affairs
Contact: Ann Hatch
214-378-1819;
ahatch@dcccd.edu
For immediate release — April 17, 2014
(DALLAS) — The only wind farm in Dallas County now makes its home on the rooftop of El Centro College. No soil or water required — just a breeze and whirling blades that can generate energy to run computers and save money.
Students, faculty and administrators participating in Earth Day activities on Monday, April 21, watched the startup of 40 wind turbines (a number that will eventually double) as the blades turned gently in the breeze that circulates among downtown Dallas high-rise buildings. Students and employees saw a live feed on televisions in the ECC Student Center mid-afternoon.
According to David Browning, vice president for business affairs at El Centro, the college purchased 80 wind turbines, all made in the United States, at a total cost of $240,000, which includes the infrastructure — a metal grid to support the equipment — and the turbines themselves.
“These turbines should have a life expectancy of 25 to 30 years, and they will generate enough power to run approximately 2,000 computers that we have in our labs on the main campus,” said Browning. “We should recover the cost of the turbines in about 15 to 20 years — approximately $15,000 to $20,000 annually.”