Community SCHOOL APPLICATIONS

From lower energy bills to hands-on energy education, schools win when they implement windpower.

• Educational opportunities: Having a turbine in your backyard – and even the process of planning for it – adds an experiential dimension to your school’s science, math, and civic classes. What better way to train the technicians, engineers, and leaders of tomorrow?
• Lower utility bills: Your electrical costs drop the second your blades start spinning.
• Taxpayer benefits: Lower facility costs for your public schools can help balance budgets and lower the tax burden on community residents.
• Stable cost of power: You’ll know what your wind-powered electricity will cost you for 20 years or more so you can safeguard your school’s budget against the volatile and increasing costs of energy.
• Green economy: Your school-based wind turbine – and each new installation it fosters – will bring high-value jobs to your community.

Learn more about the benefits of wind power here.

When considering which turbine to purchase, schools should think about their setting, local permitting regulations, and economics. Here are some of the issues that schools consider in making their turbine choice and information on how our Northwind 100 wind turbine can support those needs.

• Load matching: All else being equal, schools will want to choose a turbine – or 2 or 3 – that can support as much of its electricity needs as possible so it can gain the greatest benefit from site-based generation. The Northwind 100 will produce enough power to make a real bottom line impact on your school budget. Call for Northwind 100 specifications
• Aesthetic fit. The turbine’s height profile and operational sound levels will be a consideration if it will be located near neighbors and/or classrooms. We call the Northwind 100 “community-scale” because it fits nicely into a community setting, and our advanced technology makes it an extremely quiet machine. More on aesthetics.
• Educational support. Educators will often create their own curriculum around their turbine, but it can be a big help if the turbine supplier can provide supporting materials and ideas. Our Wind for Schools Package includes some great, standards-based curriculum support tools.
• Technology. Not every wind turbine is created equal. A turbine’s technology and design can affect many things including energy capture, maintenance requirements, and sound performance. Because of the Northwind 100’s advanced Permanent Magnet Direct Drive technology, schools don’t have to be located in wind tunnels, they don’t have to listen to noisy gearboxes, and they don’t have to implement costly maintenance programs. Schools can participate in the wind power revolution and stay focused on what they do best – educating our future generations.   
• Proven operation: Like any major capital investment project, you will want to know that your wind turbine is not a concept waiting for a test site. The Northwind 100’s proven operation in the harsh conditions of remote Alaskan villages give you comfort and peace of mind that your investment is with you for the full 20 years – and probably more – of the turbine’s life.  See the Northwind 100’s installed base.
• Upfront cost and lead time. Your financial options will help you determine what type of investment your school would like to make in wind power.  Most Northwind 100 installations cost approximately $500,000, which for many schools is a more attractive option than a multi-million dollar utility-scale turbine installation. See more about the Northwind 100 costs and leadtime.

Want to know more about how the Northwind 100 fits your schools’s requirements? Contact us today.

At Northern Power Systems, we are committed to helping schools in their unique desire to educate future generations of workers and leaders, all while bringing lower, more stable energy costs to their budgets. We do that by providing a leading-edge turbine designed for high performance and low maintenance, and surrounding it with supporting products and services that can be tailored to fit any customer's needs.

Northern Power Systems’ wind power solution set includes:

Northwind 100:

• Excellent energy capture, even in marginal wind
• Rugged and Low maintenance design
• Quiet operation
• Made in the USA
• Sleek, streamlined design
• Remote monitoring features for owner/operators

Supporting products:

A school-based windpower project often needs more than just a reliable turbine to satisfy multi-faceted goals. Some examples of what we can offer include:

• Based on Northern Power Systems’ proprietary SmartView turbine monitoring platform, our web-based monitoring tools make it easy to track how your Northwind 100 is working for you:
• AdminView: Your personalized owner account will allow you to track energy production and turbine operation from any computer in the world – or right from your office PC. 
• FleetView: Do you have two or more turbines supporting your operations? You can track their performance from one customer friendly web interface.
• PublicView: This offering allows municipalities to share general information with the public while protecting the town’s valuable asset.
• A branded demonstration kiosk can be located in your school lobby and act as a public showcase for your school’s turbine.
• Co-branded and standards-based curriculum and turbine-specific datasets are also available to provide teachers with concrete educational tools that enhance your students’ experience with – and knowledge of – alternative energy.

Service and support:

As with every community wind application, we are committed to being with you every step of the way. Some of the ways we do this are:

• Project planning and development advice
• Technical support for your installation project
• Ongoing maintenance support and advice
• Remote turbine monitoring and support

More about Northern’s products and services

We can help you learn more about our products and find out which ones are best for you. Contact us today.

Schools just like you are putting up a Northwind 100 to capture the wind and engage their students. When will you be adding your name to our installed base?

• School case study: Medford Elementary School
• Nature’s Classroom case study
• Full list of Northwind 100 case studies
• The Northwind 100 installed base (PDF)

Schools can consider a few different options for financing their wind power projects.

• NEW AND FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY! Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program (EECBG - USA). This federal program is part of the 2009 stimulus program and offers grants on a state-by-state basis to local and state governments and Native American lands for projects that reduce energy use and fossil fuel emissions. Your school wind project could be potentially be eligible for 100% funding through this program. The deadline for your state or municipality to apply for this one-time stimulus money is June 25, 2009.  Contact your State Energy Office to find out how they plan to use your state’s money.
• State grants and incentives (USA): States like Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Illinois and Vermont offer attractive incentives for wind energy projects. Several states, including Illinois, New York, Maine, Nevada, Wisconsin and Massachusetts have either specifically tailored incentives to schools or add a multiplier to existing incentives for school wind projects. Combined with the federal EECBG grant, the 0% CREB bonds, and/or local fundraising (see below), your school could get a turbine spinning with little or no out-of-pocket costs. Check the DSIRE website for the latest information on your state’s programs.
• CREBs (USA): Clean Energy Bonds (CREBs) are zero-interest loans available to schools, towns, tribal organizations, and rural electric cooperatives. With a zero-interest loan, you can use your electricity savings to pay for loan payments so your budget is not adversely affected. In February 2009, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 allocated an additional $1.6 billion for CREBs. Learn more about CREBs.
• School bonding (public schools): Schools can bond for their turbine just as they would a school addition or capital equipment purchase.
• Local Fundraising: Your school community may want to have a “turbine drive.” The added benefit of raising funds from individual contributors and local businesses is that it helps to drive early excitement for your project.
• Private funding: Private businesses can take advantage of some incentives that are not available to schools. The 30% Investment Tax Credit (ITC) recently enacted in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 is applicable to any wind power system sized at 100 kW or less. An additional benefit to companies with a tax appetite is that wind turbines can be depreciated over five years. You may be able to work with a private business who could be your benefactor. See “PPA/Private funding” below if you have a possible full-system benefactor who is a tax-paying entity.
• PPA providers: There are companies whose business model includes developing and owning wind turbine sites at schools and other sites, and then offering the turbine host a PPA (Power Purchase Agreement). This allows for-profit companies to take advantage of tax breaks and other incentives that are not available to schools and pass them on. The PPA is usually structured so that turbine hosts get the power produced at the site and pay for it at rates that are more stable and often lower than what is offered by the local utility.

We can help you navigate through some of the incentives available to you as a school. Contact us today.

Or, for more information on incentives available in your state or at the federal level, check out the DSIRE website.

Learn more about wind power financing here.

Putting up a wind turbine is much like building a house or putting up a simple addition to a school. In general, the steps are as follows:

1. Feasibility
2. Engineering and design
3. Installation
4. Commissioning

It should be noted that the process for many diesel grid owner/operators may involve some additional components, such as:

• Community involvement: You may want to plan on early community notification and involvement for your wind turbine project. This helps with community acceptance and provides some early marketing opportunities.
• Student involvement: Imagine involving your students in the feasibility stage so they can learn about the economics of renewable energy, letting them review the soil analysis results or siting considerations, staging a viewing of the foundation work and giving students hard hats while the crane is lifting the blades. The opportunities are endless, and they don’t have to wait for the turbine to be spinning.
• Multiple bids: Many public schools need to pursue a public, multiple-bid process. It is helpful if you can let your engineering/design and turbine supplier partners know if this will be the case so we can best support that process. You will also want to plan for that in your project timeline.

Your wind project is unique to your needs and desires, but you will have a team of contractors and suppliers supporting you, including Northern Power Systems. Whether you are just getting started or are ready to buy a wind turbine, the we can help you. Contact us today.

Learn more about wind power step by step here.

• Wind for Schools (PDF)
• DSIRE website for information on state and federal incentive programs
• Information about the federal Clean Renewable Energy Bond (CREB) program
• State Energy Office contacts for EECBG block grant information