Traditional corporations continue to move towards sustainable energy, and Norfolk Southern Railway is at the forefront of this trend.
On November 13th, the company announced that a 50 kilowatt wind turbine supplied by Entegrity Wind Systems of Boulder, Colorado was installed at its railyard in North Kansas City. This wind turbine can generate an estimated 100,000 kilowatt hours annually, and is built with three 24-foot rotor blades mounted on a 100-foot tower. This is enough energy to offset the electricity consumed by the pumps and controls for the treatment plant.
From the company press release:
“The North Kansas City wind turbine is the second of its kind on Norfolk Southern, and continues our efforts to promote and incorporate sustainable business practices,” said Chuck Wehrmeister, vice president safety and environmental. “We will continue to explore renewable energy applications for our facilities throughout our 22-state network.”
This is only part of a comprehensive plan by the railway to “green” its operations, which can be viewed here.
Although this may have been initially inspired as a PR effort to offset the negative press resulting from the environmental impact of spills due to train derailments, it appears to have evolved into a REAL green consciousness, which is commendable.
[Photo Credit: Norfolk Southern Railway]
