Sub Navigation

• Superintendent's Corner
• Staff
• Board Of Education
  • Board Members
  • Board Minutes
  • Agenda For Next Meeting
• RFP Area

Top

---

Mr. Bender's Advisory Group First to Visit USD 333 Wind Turbine

---

USD 333 Wind Turbine Generating Electricity

 USD 333 Wind Tower

     At approximately 4:45 p.m. on Tuesday, September 9^th, the USD 333 Wind Turbine became operational.  The Kansas Rural Center announced the wind turbines for schools initiative on July 2, 2007.  The USD 333 process began with Superintendent Bev Mortimer submitting a grant preproposal, to the Kansas Rural Center in September of 2007. Five Kansas schools were selected to be part of the inaugural Wind for Schools Program, and receive wind turbines.  The announcement in early October listed Concordia, Sterling, Fairfield, Ell-Saline and Walton Elementary in Newton as recipients of the Skystream 3.7 wind turbines.  Immediate planning started in the Concordia District, and various school sites were considered.  It wasn’t until the summer of 2008 that the decision was made to place the tower and turbine on the northwest corner of Harold M. Clark Stadium.  Part of the planning process involved working with the City of Concordia, Wind for Schools program, Horizon Wind, and the State Corporation Commission of Kansas.  The decision was made to upgrade the basic turbine/tower package so that a 60 foot monopole tower would be installed, rather than a shorter guyed wire tower.  This option would allow the turbine to be installed above the trees and buildings, in order to operate at an optimal level. 

     By late July, with all permits in place and decisions finalized, the arrangements were made to begin the construction and installation process.  Solt Construction prepared the foundation and base for the tower.  At the same time Hood’s Electric worked to add meters and connections so that the electricity produced by the turbine could be monitored.  On September 9^th, all necessary resources were coordinated by Asst. Superintendent Karl Stricker and the tower was raised and the switch turned on.  The concession stand and press box utilize the electricity with the excess being metered back into the power grid by the utility company.

     USD 333 Classrooms can immediately read, collect, and monitor data from the Skystream Wind Turbine.  A two-way remote unit has been placed in Dustin Bender’s classroom and Concordia Jr. /Sr. High School.  (Last September, Dustin was selected to attend the National Wind for Schools Conference in Golden, Colorado.)  The remote box allows easy data access and also can control power of the turbine.  Our goal in the near future is to make this information accessible through our USD 333 website. 

     The Skystream 3.7 was developed by the Southwest Windpower in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory.  It has a 1.8 kW rating and was designed for homeowners and small businesses to reduce or eliminate their monthly electric bills.  The turbine is a down-wind direct drive permanent magnet wind generator.  It uses a 12 ft. rotor and produces approximately 400 kWh per month in a 12 mph wind.  The USD 333 wind tower has generated 15kWh in its two days of operation.  The Skystream will produce power in an 8 mph wind, with full output achieved at 23 mph.  The turbine is designed to shut down with winds in excess of 56 mph.  The turbine is exceptionally quiet, due to a maximum rotor speed of 325 RPM; with the noise levels not greater than regular background noise in a home or office.  The Skystream 3.7 was awarded the Best of What’s New from the editors of Popular Science and was included in TIME magazine’s 2006 Best Inventions.  Additional information can be found at:  www.skystreamenergy.com.

     USD 333 would like to thank all business and individuals who assisted in the process of this vision becoming a reality:  Asst. Superintendent Karl Stricker; Dustin Bender, USD 333 Science Instructor; City of Concordia officials; Solt Construction; Peltier Foundry; Michel's; Hood’s Electric; and Prairie Land Electric.  USD 333 would also like to thank John Forshee and the Kansas Crossroads Resource Conservation & Development, and the KCC for additional financial contributions towards this project.