Bergey Windpower News

Bergey Wind Turbine Installed at National Building Museum

 7/26/2003

A fully functional Bergey 1-kW wind turbine on a 42-foot NRG Systems tower was installed in February on the grounds of the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C.  The wind turbine was being used to promote the museum's exhibition titled Big & Green: Toward Sustainable Architecture in the 21st Century.  The exhibition includes studies and models of environmentally-friendly project designs from a number of well-known architectural firms, including designs by William McDonough, the keynote speaker for WINDPOWER 2003’s awards banquet.  The opening night gala for Big & Green attracted nearly 500 people, one of the largest such events for a new exhibition in the history of the museum.

           "This is an important and fascinating show and we are honored to be included in it.  We are seeing more and more architects include small wind systems in their green building projects.  Being so visible and kinetic, the wind system often becomes the building's symbol of environmental stewardship," noted Mike Bergey, president of Bergey Windpower.

Howard Decker, chief curator, said, "The exhibition really captured people's imagination."  The exhibition highlights a growing interest to curb buildings' insatiable demand for electricity by redesigning air-conditioning, heating, lighting, and other systems, and to generate electricity with renewable energy sources.  The 80 million homes, offices, and factories in America currently consume nearly 67% of the electricity generated in the U.S. 

The National Building Museum, at 401 F St., NW, is just five blocks from the AWEA offices and four blocks from the Mall.  The Museum was established in 1980 to explore  American achievements in architecture, urban planning, construction, engineering, and design. At more than 140,000 square feet, the Museum’s historic home is one of the largest brick buildings in America.  The Big & Green exhibition ran through June 22.  More information about the museum and the exhibition is available at http://www.nbm.org/home.html .

   Steve Wilke, Customer Service, Bergey WindPower Co.

   T:  405-364-4212    F: 405-364-2078    E-mail:  swilke@bergey.com