The iconic Eiffel Tower in Paris is embracing the full gamut of on-site power options as it seems to reduce its environmental impact.
Urban Green Energy has been contracted to perform a major renovation and upgrade to the tower’s first floor, with on-site wind power, solar panels and heat pumps to be deployed.
The Société d’Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel has given the go-ahead for UGE to install the first of which is a pair of VisionAIR5 wind turbines as part of the City of Paris Climate Plan.
The two vertical-axis turbines have been installed on the tower’s second level, about 122 metres (400ft) from the ground — a position that maximises wind capture. The turbines have been specially painted so as to blend in with the tower, and produce virtually no sound. They can also capture wind from any direction, producing, between them, a total of 10,000kWh per year — enough to power the tower’s first floor.
The Société is funding the entire €30 million cost of the renovation — which includes cosmetic and safety upgrades — itself.
Other sustainable measures to be introduced to the Eiffel Tower include LED lighting, solar panels, a rainwater collection system and high-power heat pumps
UGE CEO Nick Blitterswyk s told CNet, "When visitors from around the world see the wind turbines, we get one step closer to a world powered by clean and reliable renewable energy."
