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The University of North Texas (UNT) has received a $2 million grant from the State Energy Conservation Office to install three wind turbines that will feed the electrical grid that provides power to UNT’s new football stadium and other buildings.
The stadium, which will open in September, is the first collegiate stadium designed to incorporate on-site renewable energy. UNT expects the turbines to be installed by the end of the year and estimates the three wind turbines will offset the energy consumption of the area of campus surrounding the new stadium by approxinately 6 percent.
Designed for low wind conditions, the community-scale 100-kilowatt wind turbines are well suited for the North Texas region, which has an average wind speed of approximately 12 mph. Unlike the very large turbines generally found at wind farms, community-scale turbines are considerably smaller and designed for municipalities, schools, neighborhoods and universities. The approximate noise level of the turbines is 55 decibels at 40 meters (131 feet), which is equivalent to that of a normal conversation between two people.
A web-based monitoring system will provide details on energy production, carbon--reduction statistics and empirical data that UNT plans to use for educational and research purposes.
“The effort by the staff of the UNT system and the university to meet the requirements of the Department of Energy and the State Energy Conservation Office to win the grant for these new turbines underscores our commitment to creating a carbon-neutral campus,” said V. Lane Rawlins, UNT president.
