Apparently, windspeed in Ottawa is below the speed required for windmills (although people are working on designing wind turbines that will operate in low windspeed).
I have walked many times over the Ottawa River by way of the Chaudiere Falls when there has hardly been a breath of air, that is, until arriving at the foot of my destination -- the Chaudiere Building -- which is 28 stories tall. The wind tunnel effect is incredible.
Engineers have designed baffles to reduce the wind tunnel effects of tall buildings so that ladies' skirts don't end up over their heads. My question/idea is as follows: Would it not be possible to design a tall building in such a way that the wind it generates would not be "baffled", but increased, and directed towards wind turbines built into the sides of the building? We are used to seeing vertically-positioned wind turbines, but is there any reason why they could not be horizontal, such as turbines in rivers for e.g. flour mills? If the shape of the walls of a building were designed to, for example, direct windflow downwards, could it drive the turbine and produce electricity directly for use in the building?
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The Home Energy Systems Discussion list - 3383 members - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/awea-wind-home/
The Home Energy Systems Discussion list is intended for those with questions about household energy systems that include wind as a component. Questions about wind turbines, batteries, inverters, towers and other relevant equipment are welcome, and will be answered by persons with hands-on experience.
Recent discussions are about wind-powered Wal-Mart stores. Sounds like they might be using the type of technology that Ann is contemplating.
/egs
Windcatcher is a British commercial product which has been available since 1965 -- 40 years. Windcatcher captures "wind" to replace air conditioning in buildings.
/egs