Alberici Refurbishes Wind Turbine
July 15, 2009
ST. LOUIS – Alberici recently replaced the blades of its landmark wind turbine at its corporate headquarters at the intersection of Page Avenue and Interstate 170.
Alberici workers used a crane to remove the old blades and replace them with refurbished blades. The work was completed on Wednesday, July 8, 2009, with the assistance of wind turbine maintenance specialty firm EMS of Gary, South Dakota.
Since 2005, the wind turbine has provided power for the building, which was one of the first buildings in the nation to receive the “Platinum” designation under the LEED system for evaluating environmentally beneficial construction. LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council.
"While the turbine was only a minor part of the overall LEED certification of the building, it remains a demonstration of Alberici’s commitment to sustainability,” said Thomas Taylor, General Manager of Vertegy, the Alberici unit that provides consulting services for LEED construction projects.
John Alberici, chairman of Alberici Corp., said, “we wanted to generate wind and solar power on our site to show the variety of potential energy strategies in green construction.”
The construction company reported $1.3 billion in revenue in 2008, and it is ranked as the 47th largest construction firm in the United States by the Engineering News-Record.
Alberici acquired the used Nordtank 65 KW turbine as it was completing the new headquarters building. Alberici crews erected the turbine atop its 124-foot-tall tower. Since it first generated power at the site in June 2005, the turbine has contributed significantly to the building’s electric power.
Over the years, one of the blades cracked, partly due to turbulent air currents near the highway. Alberici expects the new blades -- and additional maintenance work performed on July 7 and 8 -- will increase the turbine’s efficiency.
For information, please call Peter Shinkle at (314) 733-2395.