A wind turbine at Thomas Middle School has been generating quite the buzz.
On the windiest day, the turbine, installed in late July, generates 2.4 kilowatts of energy or roughly enough electricity to power two and half classrooms, said Jay Bingaman, a science teacher who helped oversee the project.
But its main purpose is educational, similar to solar panels the school installed on the roof in 2007.
The solar panels didnt generate half the interest as the thing out there now, principal Thomas ORourke said.
He and district superintendent Sarah Jerome have been answering e-mails and phone calls from interested parents since school started last week.
We drive by Arlington Heights Road all the time and noticed it, said Nancy Rodriguez, whose son is a seventh-grader at Thomas. I wanted to know more about it. Its pretty cool.
It took years of planning and some advanced work, such as soil tests and creating a concrete base, but the turbine itself went up quickly.
They did it in a day, Bingaman said. I was absolutely stunned.
The turbine cost about $24,000, about half of which was paid for by an Illinois Clean Energy grant, ORourke said.
Students in all grade levels will be able to use the turbine as part of the science curriculum, Bingaman said. Energy generation data is collected and students can take measurements using computer software inside the school, he said.
In seventh grade, students study environmentalism and will be looking at it from more of a conservation point of view. In eighth grade, students will look at how mechanical energy is turned into electrical energy, he said.
The wind turbine was built on a pivot and can be taken down with special equipment and examined by students, ORourke said. That will be done at least once a year, he said.
Besides educational opportunities, the turbine will save the school energy and money, although district officials arent sure how much.
Its a very natural thing for us to be thinking about the environment, Jerome said. Almost everywhere we look, were thinking of how we can be responsible users of energy and possible ways to generate it.
Right now, it is saving money, Bingaman said. At some point it will break even. As we start seeing fuel and energy prices start skyrocketing, itll pay for itself quicker.
Dear Editor,
The new, $24,000 wind turbine at Thomas Middle School poses some thorny questions: What is its economic value, and what is its educational value?
With a peak rated output of 2.4 kilowatts, this wind turbine can generate 57 kWh (kilowatt-hours) per day if there is constant wind. But wind isn’t constant, and wind turbines typically operate at about 30% peak capacity.[1] This offers the school electricity worth about $1.38 per day at today’s electric rates. Let’s figure out when the turbine will “pay for itself”. We start with several assumptions biased in favor of the wind turbine:
1. The equipment never requires repair or maintenance -such an assumption wouldn’t be optimistic so much as foolish.
2. The total upfront cost of the installation is $24,000. Yes, $10,000 of this came through the State of Illinois, but we taxpayers cover the entire cost. And lets assume that if it had been invested elsewhere, it could earn about 3% annually.
3. All the generated power is used productively by the school or returned to the grid. (Whether this is the case, the Trib article doesn’t reveal.)
4. The cost of electricity today is about 8 cents per kWh. Let’s assume it will increase steeply at 7% per year.
Given these assumptions, our wind turbine will break even in the year 2044, when today’s 7th graders are 46 years old: that is, after 34 years operation without repair or maintenance, and only after a hypothetical tenfold increase in electric rates. Using less optimistic assumptions, there’s no reasonable hope that this project ever will recover its cost to taxpayers.
How will the wind turbine benefit our students educationally? Will they learn how wind turbines generate electricity? Great! But this can be taught in the class, and in hands-on labs with much less expensive equipment.
Will the wind turbine be used to teach students how to think critically, how to estimate the costs and benefits of such a project? Will they learn that some projects advertised as “green” actually waste more resources than they conserve: that sometimes “green” is only skin deep?
True conservation, true “green renewal” require good use of our resources, and minimizing economic waste is part of the environmental equation. Our science students need to learn this, and we can teach the concept, but wasting money on unneeded equipment teaches an opposite lesson. In fact, we can teach science much better without our own turbine, as the funds wasted on the equipment could have been better used to augment the faculty, books, and labs… or to conserve for next year’s budget.
The solar panels installed at the school three years ago failed to generate much interest. Their total economic benefit has been equally uninspiring: 1252 kWh[2], worth about $100. Dare we ask what the solar panels cost to purchase and install? Have they proved to be a good investment either educationally or economically? Who profited most from the solar panels: the students, or those who sold the system? What other educational opportunities were lost when the solar panels were funded? What reason is there to believe the wind turbine will provide any greater benefit than the solar panels? How long will the wind turbine capture attention before there are proposals to buy the next New Thing?
Education dollars are precious and we can’t afford to squander them. For the sake of our children we need to urge our schools to sharpen their priorities and make the best possible use of the available funds. We shouldnt tolerate wasteful spending at the expense of our children.
Sincerely,
John Robin
Arlington Heights
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[1] American Wind Energy Association: http://www.awea.org/faq/wwt_basics.html.
[2] As of 9/13/2010. Arlington Heights School District 25: http://www.ahsd25.k12.il.us/schools/thomas/science/solarPanel.php, http://view2.fatspaniel.net/PV2Web/merge?view=PV/detailDC/HostedAdmin&eid=88637.