Albany’s Corning Tower has a new addition that will test big renewable-energy ideas – a wind turbine capable of producing up to 1.5 kilowatts of electricity when spinning at full capacity, AP reports (via Forbes).

The turbine produces less than one-tenth of a percent of the state office building’s daily energy needs.

The turbine is being used to test the feasibility of larger urban wind-energy programs.

The economic slowdown has thwarted growth of wind power. New installed wind capacity is expected to increase by only 14 percent globally this year. Wind power capital expenditures could drop by as much as 30 percent over the next two years.

But not all is bad news in the wind-energy sector. EL recently reported that backyard-scale wind turbines are gaining traction.