“I did not realize they would produce so little energy,” explained Port Angeles city councilwoman Sissi Bruch. “I wouldn’t have voted for it knowing it was that little. I do appreciate the educational component, but I really had hoped we were going to get a little more out of them.”

Port Angeles, a small city on the Pacific coast northwest of Seattle, used a county grant to buy three short wind turbines to light a waterfront park, reported the local newspaper. One city councilman quoted in the Peninsula Daily News said the council never discussed how much electricity the turbines would produce. The project “made sense at that time,” Lee Whetham said.

The turbines are predicted to produce about $42.00 of electricity a month for abut 25 years. Maintenance costs in the area’s salty environment are likely to be high

The value of the turbines was not economic, suggested Nathan West, the city’s Community and Economic Development Director. “By implementing the latest in wind energy technology, the city would set a trend in alternative energy innovation that sets a positive example and speaks to the city wanting to be part of state-of-the-art alternative energy technology.”

The turbines have not yet been turned on, because the manufacturer did not have the required tests done before installing them in the park.