Wind for Schools Program offers wind energy education
by Hallie Woods

In a small agricultural town tucked between the mountains and the Snake River Canyon, residents of Jerome, Idaho are breeding some of the next energy leaders of America.

Though many will go on to become farmers, ranchers or city councilmen, some may emerge with a thirst for solving the country's energy problem.

Joining a growing number of rural schools in America, Jerome Middle School recently fired up a large wind turbine staked out in front of the school. Each day students will pass the wind turbine, blowing with gusts rising from the plains. They will ask questions, collect data and discuss what the wind energy means for the country's future. "It was a great learning project for my students and myself and has piqued their interest in the area of wind energy," said Katie Cutler, a teacher at the school who lead the project. "One of my students went home and put together his own PowerPoint for fun. He really has the ideas and concept down about wind turbines."

The wind turbine, which produces between 1.8 kilowatts and 2.4 kilowatts a week, was sponsored by Boise State University and the Wind for Schools Program, a national program that installs wind turbines at rural schools. "We are wired right in to the school and have a net meter," Cutler said. "We do not have data yet of how much energy we will be able to provide the school--of course it all depends on the wind."

The towering turbines don't always provide the small schools with a large amount of clean energy. Instead, they stand as an inspiration and a sign of what is to come in our future. The program also comes with designed curriculum to teach wind energy in the classroom.

"It's only around 2 kilowatts so it's not designed to provide a lot of energy, it's designed for educational purposes and inspiration," said Ian Baring-Gould, a senior engineer at NREL and coordinator of the Winds for Schools program. "We believe it is a opening of the door and an opening of the mind."

The Wind For Schools Program started in 2005 with a small school in Walsenburg, Colo. and now stretches a number of schools and colleges in 21 states. Six more states have projects in the works.

A small turbine usually costs between $10,000 and $20,000, which is paid through donations, grants and a small contribution from the school. NREL also sets up a wind application center at a nearby university to actually implement the wind turbine's installment.

The idea, Baring-Gould said, is that the program is sustainable without the help of NREL and the DOE.

With a looming energy crises on the horizon--NREL estimates that a growing energy demand will increase 50 percent worldwide by 2025--it's no wonder green energy and sustainability have made their way into the kindergarten through 12 classrooms.

And, the turbine reaches the community members of these small urban towns.

"The nation needs to take a different look at how we supply our own energy," Baring-Gould said. "You won't change that paradigm without education."

• wind turbine
• school energy
• education