$100,000 turbines to create $1.50 in electricity monthly

Three wind turbines installed at a cost of $107,516 in a

, Washington park are expected to generated $1.50 in electricity each month. That's 25 cents more than is needed to illuminate the safety lighting in the park. The 25 cent surplus will be used to fatten the city's treasury.

The turbines will illuminate the park with safety lighting for about $1.25 a month of the $1.50 that will be generated, putting the remaining 25 cents of power back into the BPA grid, which the city will get paid for, Deputy Power Systems Manager Shailesh Shere said.

The turbines will produce about $24,145 of electricity over the depreciable 25-year life of the equipment, he estimated.

The return on investment is over 50 years.

“Considering the harsh [salty] environment, the equipment may not last 25 years,” Shere said Friday in an email.