Wine Spectator: Turn, Turn, Turn: U.S. Wineries Try Wind Power

“Honig is using a new vertical turbine called Windspire, made by Mariah Power, a small company that is manufacturing them primarily from recycled materials in a retrofitted Michigan auto plant, employing former auto workers. “These machines aren’t the big propellers you think of when you think of wind power,” says Honig. “They’re really pretty-looking—kind of like the [Alexander] Calder mobiles.”

Vertical turbines may help counter concerns about installing wind power in residential areas or bird migration corridors. “The verticals are quieter than a heating and AC unit on the side of a house,” said Jonas. “Visually, they’re not whipping around up high.” And unlike 150-foot-high, wind-farm installations that rotate so fast that the birds can’t see the tip of the blades, verticals spin at much lower speeds so they are visible to birds.” – Dana Nigro for Wine Spectator

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