Western Ohio School To Get Wind Turbines

[irishbobcat]

Western Ohio School To Get Wind Turbines

BUCYRUS -- Finally, the project has begun and Wynford Local Schools Superintendent Steve Mohr couldn't be happier. He is helping to put the wind in Wynford.




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Get details... With the help of NexGen Energy Partners LLC, two wind turbines are being installed on the Wynford campus, one behind the high school and one behind the elementary, which will account for about 30 percent of the school's electricity to each building.

"I think what is neat is that we are the pioneers in Crawford County for alternative energy," Mohr said. "I am very proud of the Board of Education for taking that initiative."

While the district hoped the turbines would be operational this past fall, after clearing up some "bureaucratic red tape," according to Mohr, the construction got underway Monday and Mohr believes that, weather permitting, the turbines will begin generating power by the end of February.

While in some areas wind turbines have been protested against for various reasons, including noise and a decrease in property value, Mohr said these two turbines won't affect either.

"The turbines are on school property and most of the noise problems are from much bigger turbines," Mohr said. "We have two 100 kilowatt turbines and they are 130-feet tall. The ones that produce a lot of noise are about 300 or 400 kilowatts. Also, they are quite a distance from anyone's home."

The two turbines will be about 200 yards from one another. Each rotor will be 34 feet in length with three blades per turbine, and it will supply enough power yearly to meet the needs of 31 homes.

The turbines cost the school district no money because NexGen uses federal grants, Mohr said. Officials believe they will help Wynford will save nearly 30 percent on its electricity bills over the next 10 years.

"We are talking possibly tens of thousands of dollars," Mohr said. "No one knows what energy prices will be in the next 10 years, but over the past 10 years, it has raised seven to eight percent per year. With these turbines, we know we will be paying a 3.5 percent increase per year, and that is going to help us with budgeting."

And there is other cause for excitement.

"The thing that got me really excited is that we can use the real-time data the wind turbine is generating in the classroom," Mohr said. "They have a great educational program that goes along with this."

NexGen provides the school with access to a software program that displays real-time data generated by its wind turbines. It will graphically display wind speed, power production and wind direction. NexGen also will give teachers ideas on how to integrate the data into lessons for the students.

While NexGen is developing the project, the legal owners are Heinle Wind LLC and McCracken Wind LLC, two Ohio-based companies. Wynford does not own the turbines, but it will benefit from the energy without the technical or financial risk