Toledo Zoo installs wind turbine

As part of its effort to find alternative energy sources and create a greener world, the Toledo Zoo has installed a residential-sized wind turbine. The turbine will provide power to the new ticket booths in the zoo's renovated Anthony Wayne Trail parking lot. It is designed to help raise awareness about the need for environmental responsibility, according to the zoo.

Staff members from Green by Design, which provided the turbine, assisted in raising and setting the Skystream 3.7 wind turbine for the zoo.

The Skystream 3.7 is designed for residential and small commercial applications. It connects directly into the grid and produces power when wind speeds are at least eight miles per hour.

The wind turbine is expected to generate 3,600-kilowatt hours per year for the zoo's ticket booths. Additionally, the zoo will install three solar panels on the ticket booths. These steps are expected to reduce the zoo's carbon footprint by over 5,600 pounds annually.

The Toledo Zoo has committed to using green construction practices in all of its capital improvement projects that are part of its master plan. Wind turbines and solar panels are among the many components to this method.