When Oil Sheikhs Turn To Wind Power

While we are on the subject of preconception-destroying notions of oil and oil states, how freakin' cool is THIS

Danish engineers retrofit the already stunning Bahrain World Trade Center with three 29m diameter, 225KW wind turbines.

The work began half a year ago, when the British engineer firm Atkins contacted Norwin, who decided to integrate Rambøll in this pioneer project. Since then the two Danish engineer firms have been working close together on solving the many technical challenges on the world’s first integrated turbine and building project.

One of the challenges has been the safety, which has to be first class as the turbines are close to humans. The second challenge is that turbines between two buildings in contradiction to normal turbines can move up and down as the bridges are flexible. “The conventional calculation system from DTU, which simulates how the turbine behaves, is not capable of doing these calculations. Therefore we had to create new calculations and today we are the only ones who can that on turbines that jump” says Per Lading. This sensational project is ready in the summer 2006.

Sensational!