Colorado co-op-served schools receive wind turbines

While they won’t put a very large dent in a school’s monthly electric bill, a series of small wind turbines slated for installation this fall at several Tri-State member cooperative-served rural schools are expected to generate plenty of student interest in renewable energy technologies. 

Four of the six Colorado schools selected by the Governor’s Energy Office (GEO) Wind for Schools program are on Tri-State member co-op lines. They are Kit Carson, Stratton and Flagler high schools, all electrically served by K.C. Electric in Hugo, and Walsh High School, which is on the lines of Southeast Colorado Power Association in La Junta.

“We have three of these turbines currently stored in our warehouse,” said Jim Huppert, K.C. Electric’s general manager.  “Our crews will provide some assistance in putting up the turbines, but the lion’s share of the installations will be handled by a contractor hired by Colorado State University.”

Each school is receiving a 1.9-kilowatt Southwest Windpower Skystream turbine. Most of these machines are already on site and ready to be installed this fall. According to Bob Mailander, GEO Eastern Plains Regional Representative, the Governor’s Office is providing each of the schools approximately $10,000 to install these small-scale wind turbines on their campuses. According to Jack Wolfe, COO at Southeast, the co-op will provide the interconnection and necessary metering to their system. 

“The Wind for Schools Program is designed to engage rural schools and students in wind energy education and demonstrate renewable power on a small scale to rural communities,” said Mike McCoy, Tri-State senior engineer.  In addition to the GEO’s project involvement, the school program is a collaborative effort by Colorado State

University, the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Updated: November 3, 2009