The Bahrain World Trade Center (BWTC) has announced it has received from the kingdom’s Electricity Distribution Directorate official certification for its wind turbines.
The three 29-m-diameter turbines are now set to auto-mode meaning they are supplying power to the office towers.
The turbines, inaugurated in April of 2008, have been undergoing daily safety and regulatory testing, and were commissioned to mark Bahrain’s National Day in December 2008.
“The BWTC’s turbines are the first in the world to be integrated into a large scale commercial development, and are predicted to provide 11-15 per cent of the power needed to operate the offices of the 50 storey twin towers,” a BWTC statement said.
Peter Longstaff, senior project manager at Atkins, the architectural designers and engineers of BWTC, commented: “The official certification from the EDD means that the turbines are now fully operational and are supplying power to the development set to auto-mode. In order for the turbines to work there are certain criteria that need to be met. Namely, the correct balanced wind speed falling between 4 to 19 m/sec flowing from the Northeast or Northwest direction.
“For the purpose of understanding power supply, the twin towers can be categorised into three horizontal levels with each floor level having a direct alignment to the corresponding turbine. It is worth mentioning here that the three turbines are running at variable speeds which is due to changeable wind speeds at each location.
“Taking all of these technical elements into consideration and keeping in mind the building cleaning and maintenance requirements, we envisage that the turbines may run, on average, approximately 50 per cent of the time.”
  Bob Addison, country manager of DTZ, BWTC’s managing and leasing agents, said by mid-2009 all tenants were expected to move in and operate in  the office towers.
Moda Mall, a high-end boutique shopping mall, is now fully operational.  
 “BWTC is truly a landmark development in terms of sustainable architecture, and we should all be proud of Bahrain as the location for the world’s first wind turbines in a commercial development,“ Addison said.
BWTC was recently named “Best Tall Building” in the Middle East and Africa region for 2008 by architecture’s leading body dedicated to the field of tall buildings, The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
The award confirms the structure’s elite position as one of the most iconic buildings in the world. In November of 2008, BWTC also became a “Blue Monument,” as it lit up in blue in support of World Diabetes Day, joining over 800 other global landmarks from 160 countries.
Visitors to the BWTC now have access to a plethora of brands through the project’s exclusive Moda Mall with the likes of Fendi, Dior, Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs, Gucci, Roberto Cavalli and Christian Lacroix now open for business.