Begich Middle School Harnesses the Power of Wind

70-foot wind turbine erected

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By Heather Hintze
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Story Created: Feb 27, 2012 at 8:48 PM AKDT

Story Updated: Feb 28, 2012 at 1:39 PM AKDT

ANCHORAGE - Begich Middle School became the first school in Anchorage to harness the power of wind.

On Monday a crew from Susitna Energy Systems put the blades on the turbine, then erected the seven-piece tower.

It’s the sixth school in the state to get a wind turbine. The "Alaska Wind For Schools" program is a U.S. Department of Energy program that in Alaska is run jointly by the Renewable Energy Alaska Project (REAP) and by the Alaska Center for Energy and Power.

“It's going to be a symbol that will identify with the kids,” said Carl Nostrand, a field technician installing the turbine. “They're going to see it spinning, they're going to hear it spinning. They're going to know this is making a step in the right direction for powering the United States.”

Students from the PACE Leadership class worked for two years to make the project happen, obtaining 28 permits and a legislative grant for $40,000. They also had community input meetings to make sure neighbors were on board.

“We had to go and talk to a lot of people about it,” said Begich eigth grader Sierra Rosenzwieg. “Not everyone was cool with it, but most people loved the idea of having green energy.”

The 70 foot Skystream turbine will generate roughly 2.4 kilowatts. With a 12-mile per hour wind, that’s about 400 kilowatt hours per month.

It is not enough power production to even make a dent in the school’s electric bill, but crews said the project is more about getting kids to think about renewable resources.

Students said they’re glad the logistical work is out of the way and they can’t wait to show their peers the latest addition to the school’s alternative energy grid.

The school principal said the next school on the list to get a turbine is Polaris.
 

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mrtncarl said on Wednesday, Feb 29 at 3:00 PM

Lets put the math to work. If one assumes that this windmill will work for twenty years without maintenance,the total cost was only $40,000, and the average output is 400/mo. This will result in a cost of 42 cents/kwh as opposed to buying electricity at current rates in the range of 15cents/kwh. What a good deal less than 3 times the normal cost!

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bigbadbill said on Monday, Feb 27 at 11:29 PM

Not sure why they paid $40k for a 2.4 kw Skystream ($10k would have been high, even including installation!) but that's governement in action. Regardless, now they have it, let's see how it holds up and if it generates a few hundred a year in savings, how about competetive bidding next time around and do another one somewhere.

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