The turbine was manufactured in Massachusetts by Aeronautica Windpower and is the first and largest utility-size wind turbine erected within the city limits of a major U.S. city. It is positioned near the entrance to Testa’s new state-of-the-art distribution center, quietly harnessing wind and transforming it into energy to power operations for the independent wholesale produce distributor.
The turbine is expected to supply 950,000 to 1 million kilowatt hours per year of zero-emissions energy, enough to supply 35 percent to 40 percent of the distribution center’s needs.
Summit Design + Build served as construction manager.
Testa Produce, founded in 1912, is one of Chicago’s premier independent whole sale produce distributors. Erection of the wind turbine is part of the company’s new 91,000-square-foot, $20 million distribution center. The facility, located in the Chicago Stockyards Industrial Park, opened in May 2011 and is on track to become the first foodservice distribution center in the nation to attain LEED® Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.