Sasha Vasilyuk, The Examiner
2008-04-12 10:00:00.0
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BRISBANE -

The empty, sprawling 660 acres of mostly landfill near Brisbane will soon have its first occupant.

Early next week, the city of Brisbane will install a 197-foot wind tower to measure the amount of wind energy that can be generated at the baylands, which is sandwiched between Brisbane, Daly City’s Cow Palace and U.S. Highway 101. Universal Paragon Corp., a Taiwanese real estate firm that has owned much of the baylands for more than 15 years, plans to develop the site for clean-tech businesses.

The tower is the first step in understanding whether development at the baylands can run entirely without electricity. The real-estate company’s vision for the site includes 5 million square feet of commercial retail, office, hotel and light industrial development.

“Ever since the original scoping, there was a desire expressed by citizens that this project should be energy-neutral or better, and wind and solar energies are the ways of achieving that,” Brisbane Planning Director John Swiecki said.

The wind tower, proposed by the city and paid for by the developer, will gather data for a year, recording wind strength during different seasons and at different heights.

“The idea is to capture a good year worth of data to get a better sense of its long-term potential,” Swiecki said.

Steve Hanson, general manager of Universal Paragon, said the 197-foot structure will be the only tower dedicated to studying wind generation on the Peninsula.

“It will be an icon because you’ll be able to see it from the freeway,” said Steve Hanson, general manager of Universal Paragon. “We want it to be a reminder of the future — not just that wind power will be the heart of the future, but that this land that has been sitting empty for years is now moving forward.”

The tower is exempt from FAA regulations because it’s less than 200-feet tall, city officials said.

The public will be able to comment on alternatives to the developer’s proposal for the baylands site later this month.

svasilyuk@examiner.com