Chipotle Makes Power From Natural Wind!

By Peter Mavrik in Food on Sep 13, 2007 3:30PM

We've been trying to work out a better fart joke for the headline but that seems to be the best one we could come up with. In truth, Chipotle, the makers of huge gut-busting diet-trashing insanely-delicious burritos really are going to harness the power of wind. Not the I-just-ate-beans kind. The breeze-across-the-Midwest kind.

They've just received approval to add a wind turbine to a new location they're planning to open in Gurnee Mills. The 60-foot propeller laden mast will indeed tower over everything in the area. It will generate six-kilowatts of energy which should be more than enough to power the store. Extra power can be sold back to ComEd.

Anyone who has been to Six-Flags Great America knows how windy it gets in that part of the 'burbs. Half the fun of riding The Eagle comes from the strong wind at the top the peaks. But in relative terms, we're not nearly as windy as the far northern parts of the U.S. according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. About 10 mph of wind is needed to power the turbine, and that area should do just fine.

We're happy to see that a company as big as Chipotle is taking a green step in the right direction, and we're even happier that a village like Gurnee is allowing it. Once the tower is built we'll have to take a ride on that giant donut that climbs the pole at Great America just so we can see the big white propeller on a pole in the distance.

Image via flickr user Davey153