1kW bird safe home wind turbine available

The prospect of wind power is highly appealing as a source of clean renewable energy. A lot of people would love to be able to stick a wind mill in the yard for some extra juice. The problem is that traditional wind turbines are large and some of them may be dangerous to birds. Mariah Power has devised one that takes up very little real estate and shouldn't pose a hazard. The thirty foot tall WindSpire is only two feet wide and generates 1 kW. It works in winds of 8mph and up and can generate 1900 kWh a year with a 12 mph average wind speed. The WindSpire runs $3,995 and if you can get some tax breaks you might get a reasonable pay back time and help charge your new EV.

[Source: Mariah Power via TreeHugger]