Program History and Goals
Wind Powering America (“WPA”), the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (“NREL”) Wind Power and Community Outreach Program, launched a Wind for Schools (“WfS”) K-12 pilot project in 2005. The Colorado pilot experience resulted in a great deal of enthusiasm for the Program and many lessons learned. WPA is now replicating the WfS pilot in five additional states: Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, and South Dakota.
Our Role
To successfully implement the WfS Program in Montana and Idaho, NREL contracted with Western Community Energy (WCE) to act as the Montana and Idaho WfS State Facilitators. WCE's job as State Facilitator is to provide managerial and technical assistance for the WfS Program through its start-up phase in 2007 through 2010. WCE will be in charge of acquiring project funding and providing project implementation assistance (siting, design, installation, analysis, and monitoring) to the WfS Host Schools in the first three years of the Program. Meanwhile, we will be helping Montana State University and Boise State University with the formation of a "Wind Applications Center (see #1 below). WCE’s involvement in Wind for Schools will diminish as the Montana and Idaho WACs evolve and grow in their capacity to effectively manage the Program.
The Turbine
A small 1.8 kW wind turbine (Southwest Windpower's Skystream 3.7) will be located at WfS Host Schools to provide students, teachers, and community members with an accessible example of how wind energy works, allowing for educational opportunities using state-of-the-art technology.
Educational Goals
The WfS Program has two long-term objectives:
1. Develop in-state technical assistance capacity through the development of a Wind Applications Center (“WAC”) located at colleges or universities in each WfS state. The WACs have been set up to educate engineers in wind applications analysis and development. The Montana WAC has been established at Montana State University-Bozeman, and the Idaho WAC is housed at Boise State University.
2. Educate rural students, teachers, administrators, and local community members about wind energy through the installation of small wind energy systems and curriculum development and integration at rural schools around the state.
The Host School’s wind energy system is intended to act as a springboard for energy education in WfS host communities. Staff from the National Energy Education Development Project (NEED) will conduct a training seminar for WfS participants. Host School staff members will be invited to attend this training seminar which will include instruction in wind energy basics, system operation, and development and integration of K-12 wind energy curriculum. Participation in the seminar will assist Host School teachers in integrating the WfS wind energy system into existing and new classroom activities.
30 Schools in 3 Years
The goal of WfS Montana/Idaho is to install thirty (30) small wind energy systems at thirty (30) rural schools in the first three years of the Program (15 systems each in MT and ID in 2008 - 2010). The rural schools will be the host and owner of the wind energy systems. WCE will coordinate this effort through 2010, while the WACs will provide the necessary technical expertise in the application (siting, analysis, installation, and monitoring, O&M) of each WfS system in the following years.
WCE is currently in the planning, coordination, and funding acquisition phases of Wind for Schools. The first Host School Projects should be installed, with Wind for Schools curriculum in the classroom, by Fall of 2008.
Funding
While the WfS Program is well-supported on many levels, the Program lacks funding for Host Schools and WAC project equipment and materials. With recent Program endorsements from Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer, as well as Senators Max Baucus and John Tester, WCE anticipates fundraising efforts to produce good results in the upcoming months. WCE is actively seeking financial and in-kind support from businesses, individual, and non-profits to support WfS Montana and Idaho.
Wind for Schools Oregon
WCE recently launched Wind for Schools Oregon to bring the Department of Energy's WfS concept and model to Oregon. DOE has determined that Oregon's renewable energy policies are so progressive that the state cannot be considered a "priority state", and therefore is not eligible for federal WfS funding assistance. Those same state policies are indeed so progressive that WCE decided that the WfS model can be successful in Oregon without DOE funding. We have invited about twenty (20) schools to participate in Wind for School’s Oregon, based on the schools' utility provider and proven wind resource. While Oregon hasn't yet established a Wind Applications Center, WCE intends to follow the DOE's WfS model as closely as possible.
Please contact WfS MT/ID/OR Host School Coordinator, Sean Micken, for more information. Sean can be reached at smicken@westerncommunityenergy.com, or (406) 581-8460.
