A northwest wind blew steadily over Xewkija yesterday as Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi inaugurated a vertical wind turbine in the heart of the industrial estate.

“When you Gozitans do something, you do it really well,” Dr Gonzi said, commenting on the weather, which was just right for the turbine’s inauguration.

The vertical axis turbine stands 16 metres high outside the facilities FXB run in Gozo and is the first step towards making the furniture company carbon neutral.

Capable of generating up to 4kW, the company estimates the turbine will be enough to offset the energy necessary to power its offices, adjacent to the factory.

“The inauguration of this vertical axis wind turbine is a symbol of our commitment towards the community with the production of clean energy, a commitment built on our history and past experience, a commitment which projects us to the future,” FXB managing director Joseph Borg said.

Engineer Ryan Xuereb, who manages Econetique, a company within the FXB group that deals in alternative and renewable resources, said the next step was to see all the factory lights being changed to LEDs to reduce the lighting load by 70 per cent.

Stage three would be the implementation of intelligent motor controllers on a number of machines, which would cut energy consumption by 25 per cent. The final stage would see the implementation of a photovoltaic system, which, along with the wind turbine, would make the factory carbon neutral, Mr Xuereb said.