Wind Turbines Now Permitted In San Francisco
San Francisco, CA - San Francisco's Building and Planning Department recently finalized an over-the-counter permitting process for residential and commercial wind turbines. This step makes San Francisco one of the first bay area cities to have a wind turbine permit plan in place.
Whirligig Inc., a member of Gavin Newsom's San Francisco Urban Wind Power Taskforce (SFUWPT), provides wind power solutions and has been working with the San Francisco planning department for almost a year on finalize a wind turbine permit process for San Francisco.
Whirligig Inc., led by Robin Wilson, is leading the development of residential and commercial wind power for Bay Area homeowners and businesses. The company installs wind generators – designed to provide quiet, clean electricity – even in winds as low as 8 miles per hour. By utilizing the state rebate program and low cost financing, the monthly payment for installation can be less than the amount saved monthly on energy bills – which makes these turbines easily accessible to every homeowner or business owner.
"We installed the first horizontal access wind turbine in an urban environment in the country at La Casa Verde in San Francisco. We got permission to install this one a year ago as a test site" said Wilson. "I am the homeowner and my company, Meridian Builders and Developers, was the designer and builder of what has been referred to as "One of The World's Greenest Homes." The house has been featured on many television shows including a Discovery Channel special last month on the home. In addition to wind power, we remodeled the house using the latest and greenest materials and systems available."
San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom is a very enthusiastic supporter. At a recent tour of Wilson's La Casa Verde, he announced to reporters that he is "creating a residential wind working group, tasked with figuring out how to revamp the city's zoning and building codes to allow wind turbines on private lots." Thanks to Gavin Newsom, Robin Wilson and Craig Nikitas of the planning department, this process has now been finalized.
Robin Wilson and Whirligig Inc. are gearing up to launch a Trust in the Wind campaign where they plan on installing several turbines all over San Francisco locations include residences, businesses, parks, schools, public open spaces. There is talk of small San Francisco wind farms and a wind turbine community art project similar to the San Francisco Heart project now underway. Currently Whirligig Inc. is getting plans and turbine permit applications together for dozens of San Francisco residents who have been waiting for permits to be allowed.
All the green talk for San Francisco has finally come to fruition with this move. San Francisco truly is leading the green movement. Whirligig Inc. is working with planning departments all over the bay area to get them to follow. "Now that the city with the toughest planning codes in the Bay Area has taken this initiative, other cities should be a cinch".
SOURCE: Whirligig, Inc.