May 21--While businesses throughout the Bay Area are busy installing solar panels, the Palo Alto Medical Foundation is looking to tap an energy source more commonly associated with rural areas: wind power.

The foundation's Palo Alto campus is the first customer of Windation, a Menlo Park-based startup that aims to shift wind power "from the fields to the buildings, where it's needed most," according to founder and CEO Reza Sheikhrezai. The medical center has applied to Palo Alto's Architectural Review Board to install one of the firm's turbines on top of its parking garage.

Unlike the towering, exposed turbines that populate large-scale wind farms such as those in the Altamont Pass, Windation's product comes in a 10-by-9-by-9-foot enclosure that would look at home among rooftop HVAC units. It would generate up to 5,000 watts of electricity, enough to light the medical center's five-story parking garage.

The idea sprang from a presentation Sheikhrezai made to officials at Palo Alto's city-owned utility company in September. In turn, they pitched it to their largest customers, and Palo Alto Medical Foundation was the first to take a swing. If approved, the project will be financed jointly by the foundation, the utility and the company.

The standard price for the 5,000watt model is $30,000, Sheikhrezai said. He declined to say how much he charged the medical foundation.

Sheikhrezai said Windation has gotten interest from dozens of other firms around the country, but the foundation was the first to place a purchase order. Though designed in Menlo Park, the turbines are built by Dempster Industries in Beatrice, Neb.

Bruce Lesch, key account representative for Palo Alto Utilities, said it's the first attempt he's heard of to capture wind power in the city.

"Palo Alto's not a great wind location," because it's somewhat sheltered by the foothills to the west, "but it's not a bad one," he said. "This happens to be a taller building, and there's nothing really blocking it."

Mayor Peter Drekmeier, a longtime environmentalist, said he's intrigued by the concept.

"They're so much potential for solar in Palo Alto, I would guess that's always going to be the preferred technology," he said. "But wind power is cheaper at this point, and in fact it's competitive with traditional power (sources). I'll be interested to see how it pencils out. If they can get a variance on it, we'll see if it starts a trend."

The foundation must obtain a variance from the city because the top of the turbine would be almost 70 feet off the ground, 20 feet higher than the city's traditional limit and five feet above the limit for special mechanical and architectural features. In a meeting this morning, the foundation will attempt to convince the Architectural Review Board that the turbine needs to be that high to be effective, and that its environmental value overrides aesthetic concerns. The board meets at Palo Alto City Hall, 250 Hamilton Ave., at 8:30 a.m. today. The meeting is open to the public.

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