(MOBILE, Ala.) - The Original Oyster House is going green. It's taking advantage of the breeze on the Causeway and turning it into energy. The company installed a 45 foot tall wind turbine Thursday. But the owners of the restaurant didn't just stop with wind power. They also installed a thermal solar water heater.
"This will offer him free hot water from the sun. As it heats it up, it heats up the tank of water, goes into his restaurant, and he uses it," said Robert Harris with Gulf Coast Green Power. "It uses no electricity."
The hope is to offset the restaurant's $10,000 a month electric bill.
"We do a lot of steamed seafood here, which demands quite a bit of hot water. And also, we wash dishes, and we serve between 500-700 people a day here. So that's a lot of dishes and a lot of steam.
This is an opportunity to supplement, to use the hot water we use in the restaurant," said Original Oyster House owner Joe Roszkowski.
The Original Oyster House says it's always been mindful of our precious natural resources and became more interested in alternative energy two years ago when it started converting frying oil into BioDiesel to fuel company cars.
Today's additions to that green movement are just another way the owners say they can give back not only to the community, but also to the environment.
"We've made our living and been very blessed to do business here for 30 years. And it's just an opportunity for us to give back," said Roszkowski.
