On the way home, we decided to drive to Bahrain and take our flight from the BIA (Bahrain International Airport). Took some pictures with the Panasonic Fx-5 that I was carrying during the times we were stuck in a jam on the way to the airport.
Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Bahrain's iconic World Trade Center
It is the first skyscraper in the world to integrate wind turbines into its design.
The two towers are linked via three skybridges, each holding a 225KW wind turbine, totalling to 675kW of wind power production. Each of these turbines measure 29 m (95 ft) in diameter, and is aligned north, which is the direction from which air from the Persian Gulf blows in.
The sail-shaped buildings on either side are designed to funnel wind through the gap to provide accelerated wind passing through the turbines. This was confirmed by wind tunnel tests, which showed that the buildings create an S-shaped flow, ensuring that any wind coming within a 45° angle to either side of the central axis will create a wind stream that remains perpendicular to the turbines. This significantly increases their potential to generate electricity.
The wind turbines are expected to provide 11% to 15% of the towers' total power consumption, or approximately 1.1 to 1.3 GWh a year. This is equivalent to providing the lighting for about 300 homes annually. The three turbines were turned on for the first time on the 8th of April, 2008. They are expected to operate 50% of the time on an average day.
BWTC and the moon
