Grassfield High School is a “STEM” (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) school in Chesapeake, Virginia, United States. Partly to help students study how a wind turbine works and partly to help power the school a wind turbine is being erected near to the school grounds. There are already some turbines near the school’s bus park (see picture below) but the new turbine will be placed next to the school’s athletic complex. It will help power the concession area at the football stadium and reduce the school’s energy bill
Paige Stutz, the school’s assistant superintendent for operations (pictured below) said:
“This gives them a live, in-your-face example, which is what you want”
The turbine, which will be about 70 feet high, cost about $20,000. Donations covered the expense.
This is not the first time a South Hampton Roads school division has delved into wind energy. For about the past three years, Virginia Beach has used four 60-foot windmills to help power a garage on Harpers Road where buses are worked. The project cost the Beach division slightly less than $100,000. Officials think the energy it produces will make up for its price tag within 11 years.
In 2005, the U.S. Energy Department launched the Wind for Schools project to help those interested in tapping into that power source. Since then more than 130 systems have been installed at schools in 11 states, including more than a dozen across Virginia and North Carolina. Wind for Schools does not provide funding but helps schools to find money. The standard turbine in the Wind for Schools project costs up to $20,000 and is 2.4 kilowatts.
The turbines have attracted little criticism because the turbines aren’t large or loud enough to cause complaints from neighbors.
